Overlord The Trinity Supreme Beings
by damiantran280
Summary: What if there was another supreme being joining Ainz and Nazarick. What if two of the almighty Supreme ones had stayed. —Well this is their legend— Follow Karna, Jeanne D'arc and Ainz as they maintain their precious guild and NPC and dominate the New World — And the new world thought the OverLord of Death was bad enough, well what if we throw in The Son of Sun God and a Holy Saint.
1. Chapter 1 - Beginning Anew

**Hey guys, I just want you all to know that this my first fanfic so go ease on me ok. **

**English is not my 1st language its my 2and so I'm not the best when typing, I also sometime type too fast and may forget to add a few things so forgive me.**

**There will be character from other anime and don't worry I do use those character in later chapter (EX: 6 part 4 - The Fight Begin)**

**here are the following Characters who will be the NPC in my fanfic:**

**Naruto:**

**—Obito Uchiha**

**—Shisui Uchiha**

**—Itachi Uchiha**

**—Sasuke Uchiha**

**Trinity Seven:**

**—Astil**

**No Game No Life:**

**—Jibril**

**Heaven Lost Property:**

**—Ikarus**

**—Nymph**

**The first few chapter will start off like the original and it diverge from the original in chapter 6 part 4. **

**I'm not good at starting story off but I'll try to make it great in the later chapters.**

* * *

**Beginning Anew**

Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or for sort DMMO-RPG. It is a type of game where you can inmurces yourself in an imaginary world as if you were in it, such as YGGDRASIL release in the year 2126. The game sported an expansive world map that have an unusual amount of player freedoms, this feature alone with others, made it stand out from all other DMMO-RPG of it time. It became wildly popular in the country of Japan, it has over 2000 basic and advance job classes. Every class had a maximum of 15 level, and so in order to reach the overall level cap 100, one would need to take 7 different classes. However, the player could take as many classes as they want as long as they meet the class prerequisites. A player could even take 100 classes at level 1each, although that highly inefficient. As such it was virtually impossible to make identical avatar unless one was trying to do so.

In addition one can use creator tool (sold separately) to customize armor, weaponry, flavor texts, appearance, and cosmetic settings. For short a very vast playing field awaits it player. There were nine world in total: Asgard, Alfenhim, Vanahiem, Nigdavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim,Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim. By the end of YGGDRASIL only 30% of the game was fully explored and mapped. But now after 12 year of service the world of YGGDRASIL is about to see it end.

'It was fun, in fact it was a blast…'

**Great tomb of Nazarick** **Ninth Floor: Round Table Room**

Within a room there was a gigantic table carved of gleaming white stone with a purple symbol at the center of the table. Around the grand round table there sit 41 luxurious red velvet chairs. But most of them were empty, the room was once filled to the brim but now only 2 being sitting on one of the previous mentions chairs. Beings who are not even closely resembling humans, beings who are in the top rank guild of YGGDRASIL, the supreme being of the unconquerable guild of Ainz Ooal Gown.

A purple gooey slime with 2 yellow glowing holes resembling eyes and a body that looks like it was constantly melting and forming back together, this creature was an Elder black Ooze, which held the most potent of cursive attack of the slime families. Sitting in Front of the elder black ooze was a 7 foot tall skeleton creature who is devoid of skin and flesh. The skeleton was known as an Overlord, the highest ranked of magic caster who had became an undead in order to learn the most potent of instances death spell. mainly wear an elaborate, jet-black academic gown adorned with golden and violet edges. He also has a dark red orb floating under his ribs that emanate a feeling of dread.

One might encounter these monsters in the most difficult dungeons. Overlords could use powerful spells of the highest tiers of magic, while Elder Black Oozes were dreaded for their ability to degrade weapons and armor.

However, they were not game monsters, but players.

In YGGDRASIL, players could choose their character races from three broad groups; humanoid, demihuman and heteromorphic.

Humanoids were the basic player type and comprised humans, dwarves, wood elves, and the like. Demihumans tended to be ugly, but possessed superior attributes to humanoids. Examples of demihumans were goblins, beastmen, ogres, and so on. Finally, heteromorphic races had monstrous abilities, but despite their stats being generally higher than those of other races, they also possessed various drawbacks. There were around seven hundred playable races in total, including the advanced versions of these races.

Naturally, the Overlord and Elder Black Ooze were among the high-tier heteromorphic races that were playable.

"Hey there, it sure has been a while hasn't Momonga?" Said the purple slime.

"Sure has, to be honest HeroHero I didn't think you would come, you've been gone for a couple of years." The overlord now name Momonga repled.

"No way it really been that long, man I guess I've been working so hard my concept of time must be out of whack.'' the purple slime HeroHero responded back with a slightly shocked and tired voice.

"That sucks, it can't be healthy for you." Momonga said in an apologetic tone, feeling very sorry for his dear friend.

"Tell me about it, I feel like my avatar look" HeroHero said jokingly but in a very tiredly way "I'm sorry I'd shouldn't come here to complain"

"Don't worry about." Momonga raises a Bonny hand as an emoji of a smiley face appears next to his avatar head.

Though advanced for it time, YGGDRASIL was still not advanced enough to replicate facial movement. It was also very limited in the sense of touch, smell and character interaction such as 18+ content restriction.

"Well I'd better go soon, I'm beyond tired." HeroHero raises a gooey hand and tap the air as a menu pops up.

"...right rest up and feel better." Momonga said as an other smiley emoji appears next to his head. "I'd wish I can stay longer, but I'd got to say I'm kinda surprised that the great tomb of Nazarick is still standing." HeroHero looked around the room. As Momonga let out a silent and surprised gassed.

"Being guild leaders really suited you, you'd did a very good job at maintaining the place." The slime said in a proud and slightly surprised voice.

"Well we did build this place together, I couldn't let it go to dust."

"Must've been hard work, thanks for everything, I'd hope we meet again in I.R.L." A smiley emoji appears next to HeroHero as he clicks the logout button and in a flash of blue light the Elder Slime was gone, leaving the skeleton Overlord alone.

"...well today is the last day that the YGGDRASIL server will be online …so why not stay and we can reminisce...Hunh" the overlord sight in disappointment. "Oh well, I'm happy that he even came at all… I hope we meet again huh...right just where and when would that be..." Momonga look down in sadness and slammed his hand on the table as it run counulation on the damage done to it and a red icon saying 0 damage appears.

"THIS SUCKED, this is our home, we'd build this place together with virtual blood and sweet, how can they turn their backs on it so easily, no stop it he didn't, no one in the guild betrayed you" Momonga sat up and walked over to a golden staff that takes on traits similar to that of the Greek God Hermes' caduceus. It is entwined by seven serpents and in each of the squirming serpents' mouths hold a jewel of a different color. Its grip has a transparent quality like crystal and emits a bluish white light. When touched, it spews a dark red Aura. Sometimes, the faces of humans in agony would appear and crumble away like it was dancing on its surface. Such an effect from the staff is so real and vivid that it felt as though one could hear their cries of pain.

Being the guild weapon as it is, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was designed with supreme quality while taking on the name of the respective guild. It is a powerful item that was said to be the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown, a guild comprised of 41 powerful heteromorphic monsters who was said to be the pinnacle of their specific race. Even though it is a guild weapon which is just shy of being as powerful as a world item, it can still be destroyed. The destruction of its guild weapon signifies the dissolution of their guild. That was why the staff is secretly stored in the most secure location with their powerful abilities never seeing the light of day. Instead it was adorned on a wall in the heart of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was so secret that the staff existence was only known by the original 9 members who had created the guild. The reason for this is to minimize the chance of an information leak when a member leaves or at worst betrayed the guild. But in the end this precaution was for-not because no one had leave or betray the guild.

Moreover, the original 9 guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown had managed to work together in order to craft this symbolic weapon that stands for their guild. Collaboratively, this was done through a type of joint project that took many years and sacrifices away from their day-to-day lifestyle in exchange for them to even make at last. For instance, it took them an enormous amount of time hunting down monsters to acquire those jewels. As a result of their guild's members collective teamwork, the weapon itself was strongly made out of a series of various powerful artifacts imbued with magical spells for its wielder to use and activate. These artifacts were in fact each collected and won by the guild members, so as to complete the creation of their masterpiece which is the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

To Momonga, it represents the joyful memories of his old times, where he once played YGGDRASIL alongside his fellow guild members before they quit the guild and game. Yet at the same time, it also represents at best the testament of his comrades' combined efforts based on both their abilities and perseverance to complete the collection. Through gathering the collection of artifacts used to craft the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, they're what visually defines the appearance of their guild weapon as well as the amount of powers contained in it overall.

The Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown would be left under the possession of Aureole Omega the youngest and most powerful member of the pleiades.

"Our guild weapon, the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, we'd play reclustly to make it, some of us even spend some of our P.T.O **(Paid Time Off)** just to have time to grind the materials, but out of the original 41 members 32 of them quite and the original 9 that were left..." Momonga pick up the staff from it pedestal as an ominous dark aura Emirates from the 7 golden snake, the aura resembled a faces of humans in agony appeared for a second before disappearing, if one listen hard enough they can even hear their cry of pain.

"Let go, your a testament to our guild" before walking off Momonga decided to to equip himself in the gear that best suited the leader of a top tier guild. All of his equipment was a divine class item, it was just below World Champion equipment and guild weapons and world class items.

On his ten bony fingers he wore nine rings, each with a different ability.

Usually in YGGDRASIL, one could only wear two rings, one on each hand. However, Momonga had used permanent cash items (which were very expensive) to let him wear a full ten rings, one on each finger, and use all their powers at once.

However, of all the rings that adorned his finger, one stands out.

That ring was called the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Every member of Ainz Ooal Gown possessed the magic ring that Momonga wore on his right ring finger.

Although he could use the power of ten rings at once with the aid of cash items, when he applied the cash item, he had to decide which ring he wanted to assign to which finger, and that decision was irrevocable. Even so, Momonga had removed the ring on his left ring finger and sent it to the Treasury. The reason why Momonga had assigned that somewhat weaker ring to that finger was because it would be very useful under certain circumstances, but he rarely wore it because it had a constant effect.

The power of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown was unlimited teleportation between named rooms of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and it would even allow one to teleport into the Tomb from the outside. Since Nazarick was magical warded to block teleportation into or within itself (except for a few specific areas), this ring was very handy.

The only places where this ring could not teleport its wearer was to the Throne Room and the various guild members' personal rooms. This ring was also required to enter the Treasury, which was why he could not do without it.

This was not unique to Momonga; most players who valued power would spend that money too.

Then there was the matter of his necklace, his gloves, his cape, his shirt, and his circlet, all of which were divine class items as well. If they had a price, it would be a jaw-dropping one.

In the corner of Momonga's vision, he could see various indicators which showed his stats increasing.

After changing out his gear, the fully-equipped Momonga nodded, satisfied that he looked the part of the guild's leader. Then, he once again reached out and grasped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

As Momonga grasped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown again, it radiated a nimbus of reddish-black light. Tormented faces occasionally coalesced out of the roiling light, and then they crumbled and vanished again. They looked so realistic one could almost imagine them wailing in agony.

"...I sometimes wonder if they went overboard with the details."

'there where 2 requirements for joining the guild Ainz Ooal Gown…' Momonga even though there was no reason to say this but Momonga was filled with nostalgia so he didn't care. He continued to walk until he approach a double black door that led outside of the Round Table room and open it. "...one is that the player must be inhuman or a heteromorphic race and must be a functioning member of society, we'd put our livelihood on the line to play, some members manage to make there dream come true, in the end I'd can't blame of them that choose real life".

The sound of Momonga's footsteps and the tapping of his staff rang through this holy sanctuary. After turning several corners in these vast hallways, Momonga saw a woman in the distance, heading in his direction.

She was a sensual beauty, whose lush, golden hair grazed her shoulders.

She was dressed in a long, elegant maid's outfit, with a large apron.

She was roughly one hundred seventy centimeters tall, with a slender build. Her ample bosom looked like it would burst out of her bodice at any time. Her overall appearance was attractive and gave the impression of being graceful and kind.

As the two slowly approached each other, the maid darted to the side of the hallways and bowed deeply to Momonga.

In return, Momonga raised his hand in acknowledgement.

The maid's expression remained as it was, and she kept the same smile on her face from just now. In YGGDRASIL, facial expressions did not change, but this girl was slightly different from player characters with their unchanging expressions.

This maid was a Non-Player Character **()**. She was not controlled by the game, but by a set of A.I routines. Simply put, she was a mobile doll. Even if her design was incredibly realistic, her bow was nothing more than a programmed action.

Momonga's acknowledgement of her bow was nothing more than a foolish gesture, because she was nothing more than a doll. However, Momonga had reasons for not treating her coldly.

There were forty one homunculus maid s in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, each with their own unique design.

Their creator was a mangaka who had broken into the industry with his maid illustrations, and who was currently serialized in a monthly magazine.

Momonga studied the maid carefully. Apart from her looks, he also scrutinized her uniform.

The intricacy of the design, especially the fine embroidery that speckled her apron, was enough to make people gasp in awe.

Their design had been exceptionally detailed because of the declaration, "Maid uniforms are their secret weapons!" Momonga couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he remembered the complaints from other guild members who had helped with the design.

"Ah… that's right. I think it was from then that he started saying that 'Maid uniforms are justice!' Come to think of it, I think the manga he's drawing now has a maid as a main character. Do his assistants cry when he goes overboard on the designs? Ah, Whitebrim."

The maids' A.I routines had been programmed by Herohero-san and five others.

In other words, this maid was the personification of his past friends' hard work. He could not simply ignore her without feeling bad about it. After all, this maid was also a part of the glorious history of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Just as Momonga was contemplating these matters, the maid raised her head, as though she had spotted something, and tilted her head in surprise.

The maids would do this if anyone lingered around them for longer than a certain period of time.

As Momonga searched through his memories, he couldn't help but be impressed by Herohero's elaborate programming. There should have been other hidden poses programmed into them as well. Momonga wanted to see them all, but time was very tight.

Momonga glanced at the translucent watch on his left wrist and checked the time.

As he thought, there was no time for him to spend waffling around.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Momonga walked past the maid after that painful farewell. As he passed the maid, there was no response, but that was only to be expected. Still, even if she did not reply to him, Momonga still felt that it had to be said, because it was the last day of YGGDRASIL.

Momonga continued forward, leaving the maid behind.

After a while, a gigantic staircase appeared before Momonga's eyes. It was wide enough that over ten people could walk down it side by side, arms outstretched, with no problems. A luxurious red carpet lay on the steps. Momonga slowly descended the stairs, until he reached the lowest floor — the Tenth Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

He made his way down a large hallway and down some stairs and that is when he notices 7 stand to the side. As he approached, they bow before his present.

The only man in the group was a man that appeared as an elderly butler and he is dressed gracefully in his traditional black uniform. His hair is entirely white, just like his immaculate beard. He has visible wrinkles on his hollow face, which makes him seem gentle in appearance, but his eyes are as sharp as an eagle's.

Behind him was 6 extremely cute girl each dressed in a different maid outfit. The oldest in terms of appearance is a beauty with an intelligent look, wearing glasses and a wide blue necklace. She wears her hair tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head. She wears a blue collar around her neck, most likely to keep her head attached to her body since she is a Dullahan. Lacking a metal plate in front of her skirt, her dress emphasizes mobility rather than defense. She is equipped with spiked gauntlets.

This was Yuri Alpha.

Next to her was a brown-skinned beauty with an athletic look and red hair tied in two long braids. She wears a maid uniform with short sleeves and long white cloves with a skirt that has a long slit on its left side, revealing thigh high white stockings. She is equipped with an imposing black and silver scepter slung across her back.

This was Lupusregina Beta.

The third beauty can be described as an elegant, snow-white skinned, black-pony tailed women. She also wears a white bonnet in place of a helmet, and black armor decorated in gold and silver in the likeness of a maid uniform. As a battle mage, her weapon of choice is a golden staff plated in silver.

This was Narberal gamma.

The second shortest girl in the group is a girl that is short in stature and has red-pink straight long hair. She wears an eyepatch over her left eye, while her right eye has an emerald color and target-mark on the pupil. Her face is very delicate, it looks as if it was artificially crafted by hand. She wears accessories with military camouflage patterns. While her face is beautiful, she does not show her emotions and talks in a flat tone. Her attire consists of an urban camouflage accessories and the cute sticker attached to a corner of her skirt with '1 yen' written on it. The other significant thing to mention would be the white gun she often has holstered on her waist like how one would wear a sword.

This was CZ2128 delta or for short Shizu delta.

The most voluptuous members is a blonde beauty with spiral curls and blue eyes, and clothing that emphasizes her sex appeal. As her race is slime, she can change her appearance as she wishes.

This is solution Epsilon.

Finally the shortest and creepiest in term of an appearance is a girl that has the appearance of a young girl wearing traditional Japanese attire. Her red eyes are cute, but they never move or blink. She has mauve hair with twin chignon. She never exposes bare skin except for her "face." Her true form is a spider-human (arachnoid). Her face is a mask-shaped insect and her hair is formed from an organization similar to a rolled centipede's. It is clear that she is inhuman but no one notices her identity as a monster until she removes the mask. She also disguises her voice with that of a cute girl by using a leech that steals human victims' voice after killing them.

This is Entoma zeta.

In a game like YGGDRASIL, guilds enjoyed several benefits if they possessed a guild base of castle tier or higher.

One of these was s for base defense.

The N. that the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick could field were undead monsters. These automatically spawning N. — or "pop monsters" — had a maximum level of forty. Even if they were destroyed, after a while they would respawn on their own, at no cost to the guild.

However, the players could not customize the A.I and appearances of these "pop" N. .

As such, they were hardly useful in deterring intruders, who were universally players.

There was also another type of N.P.C; the ones designed from the ground up to their makers' satisfaction. If a guild possessed a castle-grade guild base, the owning guild would be allowed seven hundred levels to be distributed between any number of N. they wanted.

Because the highest level in YGGDRASIL was one hundred, by those stipulations, a guild could make five level one hundred N. and four level fifty N. , or any combination thereof.

When designing an original N.P.C, one could customize weapons and other equipment in addition to clothing and appearances. As a result, one could create N. that were far stronger than the automatic spawns and place them in key locations.

Of course, not every N.P.C had to be designed for battle. A certain guild which called themselves the "Kitty Kingdom" fielded no N. other than cats or cat-related creatures.

In this way, each guild could freely determine their unique style.

Momonga then open up the silver hair butler setting "...hmm sebas-tain" Momonga read "clever name for a butler Touch-me" Momonga said thinking back to his first friends the holy paladin knight that saved him from being PKed **(Player Kill)**.

"And these are the combats maid of the pleiades, we'd intended for them to be the last line of defense to the throne room, but in the end no player managed to make it that far" he said with a chuckle 'even if someone made it to the throne, which means they had to have past the 8th floor, the pleiades who are just level 49 to 63, can't do anything to the players anyway, we basically made 6 cute maid with the excuse that they were made for combat' Momonga inwardly laughed.

'I should move them around one last time, it the least I can do, I'm sure the other guild members would forgive me for doing whatever I want, just for today [FOLLOWED ME]' Momonga commanded, Sebas and the maids bowed respectfully, to show they had heard and acknowledged the order.

Leading them away from this place was not what the guild members had intended for them. Ainz Ooal Gown was a guild that respected the will of the majority. It was forbidden for an individual to selfishly manipulate the N. that everyone had made together.

However, this was the day when the curtains would fall on everything. Given that, everyone would probably forgive his indulgence.

As Momonga thought about this, he continued moving forward, followed by the sounds of many footsteps.

Eventually, the group arrived at a vast hemispherical dome-shaped hall. Four-colored crystal lamps glittered from the ceiling, and there were seventy two niches in the walls. Most of them were filled with statues.

Each statue was modelled after a demon's appearance, and there were sixty seven of them.

This room was called "The Lemegeton." It was named after the Lesser Key of Solomon, which was a magical grimoire.

The statues in the niches were designed to resemble the seventy two demons mentioned in that book, and in truth they were golems, made out of extremely rare magical alloys. There should have been seventy two of them, but there were only sixty seven, because their creator got bored of the project and quit halfway.

The four-colored crystal lamps on the ceiling were a type of monster, and the moment an enemy entered their range, they would summon high-ranking elementals of earth, water, wind, and fire, in addition to bombarding them with area-of-effect attack magic.

If these crystal lamps all attacked at once, the firepower they unleashed could easily defeat two parties of level one hundred players, which would be roughly twelve people.

This room could be said to be the final defensive line of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Momonga led the servants behind him past the magic circle, and laid eyes on the giant doors before him.

The majestic set of double doors were over five meters in height, and covered in intricate carvings. The left side was shaped into a beautiful goddess, while the right was made to resemble a cruel demon. So realistic was their design that even from across the room, Momonga thought that they would attack him.

Still, while the carvings looked like they could move, Momonga knew that they had never moved before.

—Since they made it all the way here, we should gather in glory and welcome these brave heroes. Let others slander us as they will, but we shall welcome them proudly and openly, like the magnanimous lords that we are.

That idea had been passed, in accordance with the majority vote rule.

"Ulbert-san…"

Ulbert Alain Odle. He was arguably the most obsessed with the idea of "evil" in the guild.

"Was it because of chuunibyou…"

Momonga felt that way as he looked around the large hall.

"...Will these two statues attack?"

He was right to feel so uneasy.

Even Momonga did not fully grasp the secrets of all the mechanisms in this dungeon. It would not be strange if one of the retired guild members had left a strange sort of present for him. And the one who had designed this set of doors was just such a person.

In the past, he had designed a very powerful golem, but shortly after activation, a flaw in the combat AI made itself known and it attacked everyone around it.

To this day, Momonga still had his doubts about whether that "mistake" had been on purpose.

"Hey, Luci Fer, if they really attack me, I'll be mad, you know."

However, Momonga's caution in reaching for the doors was unfounded.

He let out a sigh of relief.

They began to walk forward in till they reach a HUGE golden and brown door that look old but strong. That double door was decorated with gold and gems and on golden door there where eching of demons and angels in a great war with each other. This double doors was name [SOLOMON'S JUDGMENT GATE].

As he got closer to them, they opened by themselves — although they did so slowly, in deference to their massive weight.

The air changed.

Although the atmosphere from earlier was filled with quiet solemnity, the scene before his eyes now exceeded that by far. The air became a pressure that weighed heavily on the entire body.

It was an exquisite piece of work.

The door finally open all the way and Momonga and his friends made there way to the throne. In the center of this room which was tinted gold and silver, was a flight of stairs about 10 steps high. Atop these stairs was a gigantic crystal throne, carved out of a single piece of black crystal, whose back was high enough to touch the ceiling above it. A huge red banner hung down behind it, proudly displaying the symbol of the guild. The Throne of Kings is made from a single mass of obsidian. The throne's size is considered gigantic whose back was high enough to touch the ceiling above where it is situated in.

The Throne Room lies in the deepest reaches of the infamous dungeon. The Lemegeton stands between it and the rest of Nazarick, acting as a final defense for the heart of Nazarick.

The room itself is an exquisite piece of work. A wide, high room, enough for several hundred people, with a high ceiling and surrounding walls that were predominantly white, with golden decorations as highlights.

Hanging from the ceiling were numerous chandeliers made of precious stones of all colors of the rainbow, and emitted a fantastic, dreamlike radiance. Numerous flags emblazoned with different symbols, each for one of the Supreme Beings, hung from flagpoles embedded into the walls.

As Momonga walk to the flight of stairs, he saw a beautiful woman who was dressed all in white "Albedo" he said to himself then Momonga made his descent up the stairs "STAND BY" he commanded the as they bow and stand just below the stairs. Stand next to the throne itself there stood an impeccable beauty,

Albedo is a woman with lustrous jet-black hair and the face of a goddess. She has golden irises and vertically slit pupils; on her left and right temples are two thick horns protruding crookedly, and on her waist are a pair of black angel wings. Albedo wears a pure white dress with silky gloves covering her slender hands and a golden spiderweb necklace that covers her shoulders and chest.

In her slender arm she hold a world item, that was bestowed to her secretly and by her creator, Tabula Smaragdina, without the other guild member agreement. The world item name was Ginnungagap: A World Item primarily used to devastate large areas. Ginnungagap appeared to be a black crystal wand. It is about 45 cm long and, extending from its tip, a black sphere was floating in the air.

Ginnungagap can be used to destroy large areas. It is the most powerful World Item against physical objects, but it is not very useful against individual targets. This World Item is capable of changing forms.

However, it stats is weaker than a specialized divine-class item. Still, this World Item is quite strong in that it will never be destroyed or damaged

Momonga look over to the demoness beauty "hmm what where her setting again?" He wonders as he opens up the master control and look at her setting "as the highest ranking N.P.C of the great tomb of Nazarick she supervises the floor Guardians" Momonga then open up her lore and background. Normally Momonga would never freely open his friends N.P.C setting without their permission but now that there were no other guild members present and YGGDRASIL is about to shutdown, for the first time, Momonga thought to exercise his powers as the guild's leader.

Momonga began to look at Albedo equipment, class skills, racial skill, and her flavor texts.

YGGDRASIL's equipment was classified according to how much data each item possessed. Items with more data were ranked higher. From the lowest to the highest rank, they were low class, middle class, high class, top class, legacy class, relic class, legendary class and, divine class.

_**ALBEDO**_

"**She is a demoness who holds the title of Guardian Overseer, which is the highest-ranking N.P.C position in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. With flowing raven hair and golden pupils, her beauty could bewitch a nation.**

**She is proud of her position and confronts intruders as a confident, dignified superior being.**

**Regardless of how brilliant or brave her foes may be, or whether she even considers them strong, she will never acknowledge them as being equal to herself.**

**This is because she understands the meaning of the position bestowed upon her.**

**Her abilities befit the title of Guardian Overseer, with outstanding intelligence and combat ability.**

**That said, she is not omnicompetent. For instance, in pure wits, Demiurge is her superior, while Shalltear is superior in fighting ability. Yet, nobody in Nazarick can rival her administrative ability.**

**In addition, her feminine skills - particularly those pertaining to being a housewife - are excellent, and during her free time, she can be seen sweeping, sewing, and so on.**

**Though the reason is unknown, she enjoys cleanliness and her desire for such frequently drives her to clean things up.**

**In particular, her ability to sort out bookshelves knows no peer.**

**However, she recognizes the possessions of others as belonging to them, so she rarely insists on cleaning up.**

**That said, the items accumulated through her collector's habit are typically very messy.**

**Therefore, it remains to be seen whether she actually likes being tidy. **

**This might well be an act - in order to appear as the perfect woman - though the truth of that is unknown. It is too scary to confirm.**

**She always has a gentle smile on her, and her elegant way of speech has made many people think she is a goddess or an angel.**

**That mistake is not particularly laughable, given that she is surrounded by that sort of atmosphere and acts in an appropriate way.**

**The fact is, it would not be wrong to view her in that way.**

**She was originally planned to be an angel of the highest order, but she ended up with a greatly distorted appearance after being fused with a monster from the land of dreams.**

**Because of that, her personality is similarly twisted, being merciless and cruel, cunning and savage. She gives her enemies despair and revels in their agonizing deaths.**

**Her usual expression seems to be there to suppress the urges which flow from her blackened heart - a mask which exists to conceals her desire to perform ruthless acts upon the weak.**

**If the mask breaks, she would probably end up being like Empress Lu Zhi or Empress Wu Zetian.**

**However, that only applies when dealing with those not of Nazarick.**

**Fortunately for those who do not serve Nazarick, one can take comfort in the fact that the mask is very sturdy and will not break easily.**

**She feels very strongly about her duties as the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.**

**Naturally, the fact that she has ears everywhere listening for information goes without saying.**

**In addition, she smiles all the time - to the point where one might say she does not show any other emotion.**

**Her smile is nothing more than a poker face to her.**

**She can also show emotions like anger, grimaces and fake tears. **

**Her sophisticated lady's face will not break, even when she is torturing the fools who oppose her.**

**By her appearance alone, she is a perfect beauty"**

"GEEZ this long...well Tabula, the setting manic is the one that created her, if she is like this I wonder what her 2 sisters are like".

As he kept reading he stopped in shock at what his friend had put on the last line, "**additionally she's a nymphomaniac**" Momonga drop his head with a sigh "huh…well he did love to make condrediding characters, I can't blame the guy for his taste but still, normal you need a tool to change a setting, but since I have this…" he raises the staff and it glows a light oregon color and a keyboard appears before Momonga. Being the guild weapon it can offer it user special privileges in the guild, such as changing an N.P.C setting.

"Hmm, what should I change her setting too" he began to delete the previous line and change it to "**she is deeply in love with Momonga**", ~mmm~ how embarrassing I'm such a dork" Momonga then gave another command "BOW DOWN" on command all N.P.C bowed before him.

"...bold move Momonga" Another voice rang through the throne room.

Momonga look up in surprise "NO WAY IS THAT YOU KARNA?!" Momonga shouted in surprise and shock.

**Karna **is a Demon of the highest level and can be described as a young man with long and white unkempt hair that almost appear transparent. His gaze is said to be sharp like a steel blade with the red stone buried in his chest similarly projecting an enthralling lustrousness. It is also specified that what draws the eye more than anything else is the set of golden armor that he has become fused with, giving off a divine radiance. While every single part is said to be beautiful in its own right, once combined with Lancer they exude far more ferocity than attractiveness. Karna wears a tight black suit that cover his entire body but exposes his chest with a red ruby that seem to be apart of him with 7 gold diamond shapes surrounding the gem. Covering his entire body was a black full bodysuit with golden armor that mostly cover his leg. The armor that cover his leg was outfitted with spike and around his neck he has a gold choker with spike and chain connecting it to his necklace. Draped around him was a hug red cape that look like ethereal energy. On thither side of red cape floated a gold accessory that looks like an eye.

**Karna: stats ** **karma** **-500 Extremely evil**

**He****alth Point:****90 **

**Magic Point:100 **

**Physical Attack:80 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack:100+ (exceed limit) **

**Magic Defense:85 **

**AGILITY:85 **

**RESISTANCE:100 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:90**

**-Total points: 820+**

"Long time no see Momonga, how you've been all these years" Karna said with a smooth gentle voice, as he walked up right next to Momonga "when did you log in man, long time no see!" Momonga said happy beyond belief that one of his best friends came back for the last moment of the game that brought them together 'YGGDRASIL'

"I just log in, I've been busy with work so that's why I don't have the time to play YGGDRASIL" he said.

"I'm glad you've showered up we only have an hour left and all our hard work is going to be gone" Momonga said in a sad tone.

"yeah, well it has been fun especially making the N.P.C and all those guild battles we did"

"You such a battle maniac" Momonga dead pan.

"What about you Momonga, have you gotten over that hoarding problem of yours" Karna retorted.

"Hehe" Momonga laugh nervously.

"So how's Jeanne doing?" Momonga ask with the hopes of changing the subject.

"she fine, she said she would log in too but she has to take a shower first" Karna said.

"So how are things between you two?" Momonga was extremely happy that another one of his close friends would also be joining them in the final moment of their favorite game.

"We are starting to plan our wedding, and that is also one of the reasons why I logged in, I want to invite you to join us" Karna said. Thought YGGDRASIL was not advanced enough to express facial features on the avatar, Momonga was sure thought that Karna face had a smile spread across it.

"WOW congratulations man and yeah I would love too!" Momonga said excitedly.

"Thanks and in turn, I'll try to get you a girlfriend at our wedding because you really need one, I think I might know some girls that would love to meet you"

"I never even gone out with a woman…" Momonga said shyly.

"Well since you did change Albedo setting to she deeply in love with Momonga...why not start with that" Karna said jokingly.

"She's run by an A.I program, so that not really dating, it an S robot at that point" Momonga said with an embarrassed tone of voice "beside the 18+ restriction won't allow any player to do any R rated stuff to each other and especially to the N.P.C".

"You really need to get a girlfriend…" Karna sigh as he out stretch his hand **[CREATE GREATER ITEM: IRON THRONE], **suddenly a throne made of gold, silver and thousands of swords appeared.

The Iron Throne is a throne that was made up of steel and sword from kings of old. It is a throne that only a demon would gladly sit upon. The throne was made up of a thousand blades that was so sharp it can kill. Each individual blade was well crafted and shine like a star even though it looked very old.

Because of the fanged steel behind, it is impossible to lean back on Throne unless you are equipped for that purpose. The throne was designed to be uncomfortable, because "a king should never sit easy". The points of the blades fan out like talons from arms of the throne. Even after three hundred years, some of the blades are still sharp enough to cut.

The monstrosity of a throne appears next to Momonga World Item "**throne of the King"** And Karna sat upon it with a cross leg position. Though it was not as big as Momonga throne it was still very large compared to a regular throne.

"Isn't that the **Iron Throne** you bought with IRL money?" Momonga asked.

"Yeah it is, I haven't used this in such a long time, so I want to sit on it again until YGGDRASIL end" Karna said with a hint of sadness stain his voice.

"Why did you even bought in YGGDRASIL"**gacha game" **anyway?" Momonga ask. Thought Karna almost missed it, he was able to hear hatred dripping from his friend's voice. It look him a few seconds for everything to click but Karna finally know the reason why whenever "**gacha game" **was brought up Momonga was very quiet about it.

Karna burst out laughing.

"Hey don't laugh at me, it cost me my entire summer bonus just to get that ring!" Momonga said with great anger in his voice as the memory of the time he had to spend all his money on the **[WISH UPON A STAR] **ring.

That ring is a god level item and it contains 200 wishes and for every 10 EXP you spend it will grant you 1 wish. So the likelihood of you getting you specific wish granted was 1/200 it was not an item you would like to have. But thanks to YGGDRASIL update it was very useful for Momonga type of character who is a pure magic caster, because most of the 200 wishes was granting special effect or gimmick but with the recent update most if not all those spell was replaced with 8th-9th tier magic attack, defense and buffs and debuffs affect.

"Hehe, sorry" Karna apologize through still lingering laughter.

He began to compose himself "To answer your question from earlier, I bought the thing because for one reason, it has the same function as the throne your sitting on right now, it just on a WAY smaller scale because its not a World Class Item" Karna explains.

"What really?!" Momonga gasp "so it also boost the user stats when their sitting on it?"

"Yep" Karna reply calmly.

"Considering you're the one with the hoarding problem, I thought you already know and on that subject did you fix that hoarding problem of yours" Karna asked with a virtual raise eyebrow.

"...n-no…" Momonga laughs shyly, as Karna shake his head in disappointment in his friend. Momonga then looked up and saw all the 41 flag that hang atop the throne room "now these are a relic of the past" Momonga said in an attempt to change the subject. Karna then raises a finger and pointed at the flag and began to name them off "there mine, Jeanne D'arc, Touch me, Punitto moe, HeroHero, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Tabula Smaragdina, Ulbert Alain Odal, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Amanomahitotau, Nishiki Enrai, Yamaiko and yours Momonga" and Karna then name the rest of 27 flag representing their friends "it was fun playing with them wasn't it".

"Yeah... yeah, it was fun... hey do you want to wait with me until the server shutdown and we all get forced logout?" Momonga suggested.

"yeah sure, let wait together I time to spare" Karna said.

That when Momonga notices a young petite woman with long grey-white hair and a large black bow on top of her head. Her attire consists of a black strapless camisole with white stripes connected to a black choker with a metal ring, a red mini skirt with white clothes, black stockings, and brown loafers. Additionally, she also sports black arm sleeves held together with white bands, a black grommet belt, small black belts on both legs with the right one on the upper thigh and left one on her ankle.

**Astil Luxuria: stats ** **karma ****-100** **neutral evil**

**He****alth Point****:100 **

**Magic Point:100 **

**Physical attack:75 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack:95 **

**Magic Defense:90**

**AGILITY:80 ****RESISTANCE:85**

**SPECIAL ABILITY:80 **

**-Total points: 790**

"Is that Astil?" Momonga wonder out loud "yeah one of Jeanne 4 personal creation" Karna confirmed "you two would spend all your time building and rebuilding them in hope of trying to beat Tabula's Rubedo" Momonga said with nostalgia, Karna chuckled "hehe yeah but we warrant able to because somehow that Tabula, was able to turn a World item into an NPC"

"Still though they are one of the strongest we've got" Momonga confirmed "Can i take a look?" Momonga asked.

"Yeah, go head"

**Astil Luxuria**

"**Astil Luxuria has a very proud and cheerful personality, being enthusiastic in most situations regardless of any dangers. As such, she is quite straightforward and open, unafraid of speaking her thoughts. However, because of this, she can appear spontaneous and audacious, usually making suggestive comments or acting in a risque manner. Nevertheless, Astil is good natured and easy to get along with. Additionally, she can be quite shrewd and mischievous, finding amusement in observing and teasing those around her. But despite her easygoing attitude, Astil is highly loyal and reliable to Karna and Jeanne her master and her creators and is willing to fight and support them although, she can be too lax on certain occasions. In those situations, she can become serious and determined, helping and watching over him numerous times. Nonetheless, Astil will remain obedient and devoted to her master, trusting in his decision and carrying out his very requests without hesitation. Furthermore, Astil is exceptionally confident and proud of her own abilities as a creation of the supreme being, commonly proclaiming herself as a genius in spite of not quite understanding the process. Being Karna and Jeanne creation, she has excellent teamwork skills, able to work together with him effectively and efficiently. During battles, she can become more focused, but rarely does she lose her composure. As such, she is still usually light hearted and nonchalant. However, she can sometimes become overconfident and reckless, leaving her open after using powerful attacks. Regardless, Astil is quick to recover to composure and decide on a proper course of action."**

"Wow great character lore dude" Momonga commented.

"Yeah thanks and sorry to be the bringer of bad news but, it seem we'd only have a minute left" Karna said sadly.

"that was fast" Momonga commented sadly.

"Well I gotta wake up at 4am, I better crash before the server shut down, I don't want to be a zombie at work" Momonga sigh exhaustingly.

"where is Jeanne, she said she'll be here in a minute and it almost shutdown time?" Karna said. He then checks the guild menus where names of all guild members are registered.

"...Oh well then it look like she not coming, sorry Momonga but if YGGDRASIL 2 came out let meet up and play together again"

-23:59:57-

"It ok but it has been fun, in fact it was a blast"

-23:59:58

"We'll, see you my friend"

-23:59:59

-00:00:00-

-00:00:01-

-00:00:02-

-00:00:03-

""...HUH…?!""

"Did the shitty dev put back the server shut down?" Momonga said with confusion which soon turn to shocked '...WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY VOICE!?' Momonga thought, he was shocked to hear his voice, it was deep and commanding.

"Maybe…?" Karna said as he looked around in both shock and confusion '...my voice also changed...?!'

Momonga try to activate his consul to contact the GM but "Uhh...where's my consul!?" Momonga began to panic and stand up in a hurry, "I can't contact the GM?!"

"What do you mean?" Karna then try to open his consul but nothing happened, "what the hell is going on!?"

"...is something the matter lord Momonga, lord Karna!?" a confused and worried beautiful voices snap both of them out of their thought and both looked over to see a worried and confused Albedo.

"My Lords?" Astil spoke as well and tilted her head cutely in confusion.

"My lords is everything alright, you seem troubled my lords!" Albedo then rose from her kneeling position and stood up and clapped her gloved hand together so it was against her chest like someone would when praying.

She stands in front of her lords and masters. She looked back and forth at the two supreme being who'd looked at her and Astil with even more shock and confusion.

"Please my lords if there's a problem please let us help!" Astil lightly sprinted until she reaches the base of the stairs.

Momonga eyes or lack thereof, began to wonder down to Albedo chest. His red dot eyes began to glow bright and is skeletal jaw open in a gasp before a green light emanated from him and calmed his hormones down 'what was that?' Momomga questioned.

He then closes his jaw and without thinking about it he just said in an unsure and shaky voice at least that what he thought "the GM call function isn't working…" Momonga said still confused about the situation. Albedo confused face vanish and a sad expression replaced it stead she then stepped back in shame and bowed her head slightly "I'm sorry my lords, but I have no answer, this GM call magic you speak of is beyond my comprehension..." Albedo head raises from her dowing position and looked up with a determined and at the same time a sad and distressed face and said "I realized my failed to assist you is inexcusable, I know I don't deserve it but I beg for mercy lords!"

"Please my lord forgive me as well, I beg for forgiveness supreme one for i also do not know what this GM magic is!" Astil got on her kneel and lower her head.

-Meanwhile- 'THERE MOUTH ARE MOVING!?' Momonga thought in absolute shocked 'I'M ACTUALLY TAKING TO AN N.P.C !?"

Karna was the first one to snap out of is shocked and quickly think of what to do 'what the hell is going on, we are actually talking to an N.P.C. How can they move and talk!...calm down...judging by their way of speech, they probably thinks of Momonga and Me as really important people and they are loyal jugging by their actions, their voice sound genuine too… this doesn't make any sense, what is happening, is this an update…no things seem to real...ok I got to test something out to see if this is the game or real life…'

With Momonga 'NO WAY IS THIS A BUG OR A PROGRAMING ERROR…!?' Momonga this release his staff, it floated a little to Momonga side and huver 'ok the staff still functions like it normally does…but I can use my consul or contact the administrator...what should I do?'

'It seem like Momonga has the same idea' Karna thought with relief.

"Calm down Albedo everything is fine, sebas…" Karna paused for a Moment as he sees Albedo looked at him with relieved and a small smile down across her beautiful face "Yes my lord" the iron butler voice snapped Karna back from his thinking 'should I give him an order…screw it'.

"...sebas step out of the great tomb and confirm the surrounding of Nazarick" Karna was still in shock at how his voice is now. It was deep but not as deemed as Momonga, however it was more commanding and have a very slight echoing effect.

"And take the 2 of the pleiades with you"

Sebas then roes from is kneeling position and bowed with a white gloved hand placed on his heart "by your command lord Karna, I shall return shortly"

Momonga seems to pick up on what his friend was thinking and followed his lead "and the rest of the remaining pleiades, I want you on the ninth floor, if anyone try to trespass immediately retreat and report to me immediately" Momonga said as he sat back down on the crystal throne.

"Also in one hour all pleiades will meet on the 6th floor coliseum understood?" Karna asked.

Yuri Alpha quickly bowed and spoke as the oldest she naturally represents her fellow pleiades "as you wish my lord, it will be done"

'They even responds to and recognizes command that not native to the game...what is going on…butler aren't supposed to go outside of a guild base and the pleiades can't leave the ninth and tenth floor by themselves!?' the overlord and the demon/vampire thought.

"Master please give me an order as well" Both supreme being looked at the petite blue and white haired girl.

'Crap' Karna brain began to run high speed counculation of what to do "...Astil go and wake up your sisters and brothers and have them come to the sixth floor amphitheater in 1 hours time as well" Karna commanded.

"As you wish my master!" Astil said and ran off to where her sisters are.

'I wonder if I can use magic or any skills I'd had in YGGDRASIL, the guild staff still function normal in the game so I wonder...**[MESSAGED]**...Momonga?' '...Karna is that you!?' Momonga said through the **[MESSAGED] **spell with great relief and confusion. The **[MESSAGED]** spell can allow someone to talk to each other with verbally talking.

'Yeah it me...now what the actual hell is going on!?'

'I DON'T KNOW, THE N.P.C ARE TALKING AND THEY ARE RESPONDING TO COMMAND THAT AREN'T NATIVE TO THE GAME AND... '

'OK would you calm down, now isn't the time for a mental break down, instead Let try to think of what should we do about not being able to connect with the GM'

'Ok, OK -deep breath- ...how about um just using the **[MESSAGED] **spell?'

'That could work, but it only for players to contact each other...ok how about this I'll try to contact the GM, while you figure out whether this is I.R.L or a DMMORAG'

'Ok, but how do I do that?'

'By testing out the YGGDRASILL rule, like the 5 senses and the 18+ restriction'

**[MESSAGED]- disconnected **

WAIT WHAT NOOO DONT…you bastard...'

"So, My lords do you have any order for me to obey~?" Albedo said seductively.

'Ohh crap' "...Let see, I guess you can come here for a bit"

"SURE" Albedo happiness said as she rash straight toward Momonga in till there face where a half foot apart.

'WOH she smell great...WAIT SMELL THERE WASN'T ANY FUNCTION LIKE THAT IN YGGDRASIL…'

"...A-Albedo my I touch you…" Momonga said as he raised his had to grab hers.

Albedo response with a quick and happy "yes"

The moment Momonga grab her hand Albedo started to moan in pleasure 'no way...she has a pulse...WHY THE HELL IS SHE MOANING...oh...right'

Momonga thought back to him changing Albedo setting.

"...this is crazy, she's supposed to be a N.P.C run by a A.I program...and now she run by her background lore…why does she seem so...alive…' meanwhile Albedo had a deep blush spread across her check and her lower half squirm around and her black wing flaps up and down in excitement.

'Ok now focus I have to confirm this no matter the cost…'

'I have to do this!' Momonga took a very large deep breath "A-Albedo m-may I touch your chest...?" Momonga said in an embarrassed and nervous voice.

'Ah...this is necessary, play it cool and act natural like it no big deal'

"Ah um you don't mind that right…" 'YOU BLEW IT NUB!'

"OF COURSE NOT touch me as much as you wish!" Albedo stand up to a reasonable height for her lord previously wish. But in doing so her breast bounced around in turn causes Momonga to be even more nervous as he slowly existent his boned hand and grab her chest.

The instant his hand squeezed her chest she moaned loudly. In turn breaking Karna from his thoughts and he quickly looked over at his friends who's deep in thought and not realizing he's groped her longer than necessary.

'Ok let's think this through if I'm able to do this kinda stuff reserved for hentai game means that this is not a new version of YGGDRASILL, so the chances are that this is some new DMMORPG is out -Albedo MOAN- is it even possible that somehow this virtual world became real all of a sudden -another Albedo moan-…no way that nuts, but real, taking to the , smelling there scent, touching them all of these things would have been impossible to programmed into games'.

'Um...Momonga AHEM!' Karna cut in through **[message]**.

'Whow hay how long did I intended to grope her like that!'

Al-Al-Albedo I'm s-sorry I didn't mean t-" Momonga was cut off when…

"Uah this It isn't, your going to take me right here!" 'WHAT THE F-'

"ah what should I do about my clothes, should I take them off or would you like to do it, of course if you want to do it with it on then that fine as well!"

"Whow hold-" Momonga was cut off again by Albedo.

"And lord Karna can be witnessed to our union!" '...no'

HOLD IT ALBEDO, this isn't right...Ahem...now is not the time to be doing such things"

"AHHA IM SO SORRY MY LORD!" Albedo relied back in shock and was ashamed of herself.

"it fine Albedo, I forgive you completely but right now I have an order for you"

"It would be my pleasure to serve you!" Albedo bowed in respect.

"Except for the guardian of the fourth and eighth floor, I want everyone to arrive at the sixth floor fighting arena, have them all gathered there in 1 hour".

"As you wish my lord" with another bow Albedo left the throne to fulfill her orders.

"This is terrible, Tabula I can believe I take the you made and tainted it like that…" Momonga hand raises and claps over his forehead.

"It not your fault Momonga but now isn't the time for this, we need to discuss this situation where in right now" Karna said as he tries to comfort his friend and lead this discussion into something relevant to the current situation.

"Your right were worried about that later" Momonga said as he reach our is arm and then the staff floated right back into Momonga's hand.

"Ok now firstly I can't contact the GM using the **[MESSAGED]**"

"Goes figure" Momonga sigh in disappointment.

"With that out of the way, we know we can still use magic and judging by the way Albedo behaves most likely all the are loyal to us, probably because they see us as some kind of god-like beings to them"

"Agreed how about let's test out the items?" Momonga suggested "my staff work like it's supposed to"

"Good idea, let test out our guild ring that let us teleport anywhere in the guild"

"But how do we use it, in YGGDRASILL there are menus that let you choose where to go?"

"Let try doing what we were doing with the **[MESSAGED]** spell" Karna suggested.

"What do your mean?" Momonga asked curiously.

"Well in order to used **[MESSAGED] **I need to think about who I want to message, so let's try thinking about the place we want to teleport" Karna explains.

And with that the two teleport away in a blue light.

In the sixth floor of the great tomb of Nazarick there lies a giant coliseum known as the Amphitheater it is a large arena surrounded by several layers of an auditorium. This oval complex had a length of one hundred eighty meters on its long axis, a width of one hundred fifty meters on the short axis. As well as being the height of forty meters tall. It was modeled after the Colosseum of the Roman Empire. The audience consisted of numerous golems that acted as spectators and there a VIP seat seated atop six-story complex where members of Ainz Ooal Gown would sit and oversee the invaders any of Nazarick fight for their lives at their leisure. The sky shown here in the Colosseum could change depending on the time of day, even showing an actual sun with appropriate daylight effects. There are multiple spells of Continual Light, it is cast everywhere throughout the arena, illuminating the grounds in white light, so one could observe the entire Colosseum like it was during daytime inside rather than the present night-sky depicted from above. The Colosseum was oval in shape, 180 meters on its long axis and 150 meters on the short axis. It was 40 meters tall.

Within a long hallway that led to the center arena 2 blue flashes can be seen. When the blue light disappear, an overlord skeleton in a black and purple robe and a demon lord dress in black armor appeared in it place.

"It worked, the ring teleportation ability still works" Momonga said as he looked at the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, which is a golden ring with the guild symbols in the red ruby gem at it center. The ring was made for all 41 members of the guild to symbolize their membership and allow them to freely teleport anywhere in the tomb.

"That probably means we can still use items, but just to safe let test out some magic as well" Karna suggested.

"Yeah, I wonder what about the other , Albedo seen loyal like she was programmed to be, so what about the others?"

"Well, we just have to see…" Karna said as he hopes the other characters are as loyal as Albedo was.

The two began to walk down the stone hallway. They soon reach the center arena where they see an article star lit night sky made by one of there friends Blue Planet as well as roses of stone seats and a V.I.P box for them.

"The twin dark elves made by chagama should the guardian of this floor right?" Momonga wonders.

"Yeah I believe so, if memory serves they are cross dressing brother and sister" Karna said as he tried to recall Bukubuku-Chagama creations.

"Then where are they?" Momonga wonder as he looked around the coliseum.

"HUP!" A slightly squeaky childlike voice rang through the silent as a white blurred jump off one of the V.I.P boxes and landed in front of Momonga and Astral leaving a huge dust clouds apron impact.

When the dust cloud settled a tomboyish looking child with dark skin and pointed ears, a signature traits of the dark elves. She has golden hair and heterochromia eyes, her left eye blue and right eye green. She wears reddish-black dragon scale leather covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown. Below it, she has a matching set of white trousers and gold plated shoes, and around her neck is an acorn necklace emitting golden light.

This was Aura Bella Fiora a dark elve The is one of the guardians of the sixth floor.

"Crusted!" Aura said as she made a v sign with her finger. She then proceeded to run up to her lords with break neck spread.

**(**"We are honored to have you lord Momonga and lord Karna, welcome to the sixth floor amphitheatre!" A slightly singsong high pitch girl like voice said as Aura put her hand over her heart and slightly bowed before her lords.

"It's good to see you Aura" Karna greeted the young dark elve.

"We'll only intruded for a little while" Momonga commanding tone of voice said.

"You must be joking right, you two are the absolute ruler of the great tomb of Nazarick your power here are absolute, there is not a single guardian who would consider you an intruder, lease of all my brother and I!" Aura said with absolute loyalty.

"Hem...spreading of…" Karna look around for the other guardian of the sixth floor Mare Bello Fiore.

Aura looked behind her and see that her brother was not there "MARE GET DOWN HERE, YOUR BEING RUDE TO THE SUPREME ONES, STOP COWERING AND GET DOWN HERE ALREADY!" Aural shouted up at the V.I.P box that Mare was hiding under.

"…b-but sis I'm scared, come on…" a shy boyish tone of voice emanate from the V.I.P box.

"Mare!" Aura shouted back.

"O-Ok ok fine, I'm coming…" the blond haired dark elve proceeded to jump off the V.I.P box and landed in the exact spot that his sister landed.

Mare is a child with dark skin and pointed ears, a signature trait of the dark elves. He has golden hair and heterochromia, his right eye blue and left eye green. He wears a blue dragon scale leather full bodysuit, covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown and a forest green-leaf cloak. Below, he has a matching short white skirt exposing his thighs, and on his neck is an acorn necklace emitting silver light. His slender hands are donned with shiny white silk gloves and wields a twisted black wooden staff.

"...good grief, we're getting old here" Aura wine.

"I'm hurrying!" Mare said as he ran next to his sister and quickly bowed to the supreme ones.

"I-I apologized for making you wait my lords!" Mare said in a shy tone with a small smile.

"It fine Mare" Karna said as he patted both Aura and Mare on the head to which the two lightly blush and enjoy.

'When did he became so nice?' Momonga questioned.

"I would like for you two to help me out with something" Momonga said as he lightly taps the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on the ground.

"Amazing!" The dark elves twin said with stars in their eyes as they stare at the great staff made by the other supreme being for Momonga.

"Is that the legendary weapon that will only bend to your will Lord Momonga, the fayble weapon of the tomb?!" Mare said with curiosity and wonder.

In an instant Momonga replied with "indeed, it was created by the guild past members-" Momonga raises up the golden staff "-it a testament to our dedication, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown!"

"Each stone in the mouths of the seven crowing snakes is a god level artifact, on top of that the power in the staff itself transcends god level…" Momonga explains.

Aura and Mare listen intently with stars in their eyes.

"-It base stats are on par with any world item, in fact the DPS of it outou attack alone can one-shot a-"Momonga was get off by Karna "Ahem".

"Uh...well anyways that how it is" Momonga was met by 'Awesome!' And 'it so cool' from the twins.

"Then we would like the two of you to help us run some tests with it" Karna said with a smile.

"RIGHT we won't let you down my lord" Aura said and Mare nodded.

"Oh and Aura I call for the other guardians to meet here, they should arrive within the hour" Momonga said.

"Eh does that mean Shalltear is coming?" Aura wines.

Momonga reply with a simple "yes"

A moment later 2 large Dragon-kins came out with 2 straw dummy. The 2 Dragon-kin's was mostly brown except for its body armor which cover it arm, legs and spine and stench to it massive tail.

Karna contacted Momonga secretly via **[MESSAGE] **spell 'in YGGDRASIL you can use magic by clicking on the appropriate icon on the consul, but now that the consul and icon is gone...what are you gonna do?' Karna asked with curiosity.

'Hmm...well...If I focus hard enough I don't need it, I can feel the attached rang of my spells, there individuals cool down rate even how many MP I have, I can do this...I hope' Momonga reply back.

"**[SUMMON: PRIMAL FIRE ELEMENTAL]!" **Momonga shouted as he raises up his staff, it glows a light orange and the red orb in one of the seven golden crowing snakes glows bright red and then one of the 2 dummies burst into flames. It spin around like a tornado, the 2 Lizard demon creatures surround the twins to try to shield them from the shock wave. As for Momonga and Karna a purple black sphere covers them from the shock waves.

When the flame was done the Primal Fire Elemental was form. It is an evil spirit that resembles that of a humanoid fire tornado. With it upper half looking like a red rock dragon with horns protruding out of it head, it also has no eyeballs and it body had a rib cage outline. It lower half was a construct of broken off rocks and a tornado made of fire.

"The Primal Fire Elemental, it's level is in the upper 80s…" Momonga then looked at the twin only to see them with an amazed look on there face and those eyes filled with shining star never falter.

"...would you like to fight it?" Momonga suggested as Aura looked at him like a father had just brought home the most awesome toy for their kids.

"REALLY, YEAH I WOULD LOVE TO!" Aura said in excitement but Mare on the other hand, was sweating and had a nervous and scared expression.

"Um…I just remembered I had something else I have to do...so bye" Mare said as he tries to walk off but was stopped by Aura grabbing his shoulder.

"COME ON!" Aura had an exciting look on her face.

The two then stand in front of the fire beast. Aura ready her long wipe and Mare clutch his wooden staff tightly.

"Primal Fire Elemental attack the dark elves twins!" Momonga commanded his summoned.

The Fire Elemental breath a torrent of flame at the twins. Aura ran straight at and jumped into the air avoiding it breath attack. With a quick swing of her wipe it cut right through the Fire Elemental. But to Aura shock it immediately regenerated and swing it claws at Aura who was stuck in mid air.

"**[MAGIC SHIELD]!"** Mare yield as a green orb surrounded Aura protecting her from the Fire Elemental claws. Aura was pushed back and landed but then she jumped into the air again and like last time swing her wipe at the Fire Elemental.

"I know this was going to be easy for them, now we our other magic works as well" Karna said "however don't you think it dangerous letting them fight a level 80 summon, if we go by YGGDRASIL rule a player must at least 20 level from another player to do any sorta damage"

"Well I would be worried if it was just one of them, but their both level 100 so it fine, I hope" Momonga said.

"You hope, come on, think before acting man...well if you can use summoning monster here then let me try something too" Karna stretch out his clover hand and soon his hand was covered in black flame that was violently swirling around "**[DIVINE CHAOS FLAME]"** the huge torment of black flame shot forth with a wave Karna hand. The black flame was fast and like a black tsunami it slammed into the dummy and it completely turned the remaining dummy into ash the moment it comes into contact.

'Wow what skill was that, it so powerful!?' Momonga thought with shock.

'Hemm, interesting…' Karna thought, he'd pulled back his black gloved hand which smoke lingers from and stare at it with curiosity.

**(**Suddenly a **[MESSAGE]** spell contact both Momonga and Karna, it was Sebas Tian the Iron butler and the leader of the pleiades battle maid or the pleiades six star as they are known when under sebas command. He acts as the personal butler of the guild master of the great tomb of Nazarick. He was made by their friend Touch Me.

Karna put two fingers together and held them next to his ear "What is sebas and how is it on the outside?" Karna said.

"Well, lord there seem to be a slight problem" sebas calm and elegant voice said.

"Hm, I have called all the guardians to gather, come to the sixth floor amphitheater immediately, you can report on what you saw when your here" Momonga order.

"Understood lord"

A torrent of swirling smoke filled the air as the Primal Fire Elemental draws it last breath as Aura shot it with an arrow that was fired using another one of her weapons [Queens Aids] a divine class gear created for her by her creator.

"Well done, that was impressive" Karna said as he ruffled the twins hair.

"That was fun, I haven't exercises like that in a while" Aura said as she wipes the sweat off her four head.

"Then you two must be thirsty" Momonga said as he reached into his inventory and pulls out a 2 cups of water and gave them to Aura and Mare. The two look at each other hesitantly before drinking it.

'I haven't the foggiest idea what is going on but it seems that all the are loyal to us just like they were programmed to be, if that is the cases we should act like a proper superior in front of them' Momonga said to Karna via **[MESSAGE]**.

'Yeah and while we're at it, we also need to learn all we can about this world, we were max level in YGGDRASIL so I wonder how strong we'll be here?' Karna **[MESSAGE] **back.

'...And if this is a new world should we even try to get back to our old one?' Momonga said.

'Hm, what do you mean?' Karna said slightly confused.

'It not like we have anything special back there, we have no friends or family outside of our online friends in YGGDRASIL, all we ever did was work, eat and sleep...in all honesty our lives wasn't worth much…OHH CRAP, I'm so sorry Karna I forgot about Jeanne!'

'...It fine…' Karna said grimly he then cut of the **[MESSAGE] **spell and he began to think of what Jeanne is doing right now 'he mostly right, everyone I know is gone the only person I have left is Jeanne…'

Momonga remains silent as he lowered his head in sadness. His friend was about to get married with the girl he loves and Momonga said that they have nothing back there. He was ashamed of himself.

"I have to amit lord Karna, lord Momonga I thought you two would be scarier" Aura voice of amitend brought the two out of their thoughts just to see that she and her brother finish their drinks.

"Oh is that so, we can do that if you want us too" Karna said with a slight amusement, he then tries to forget about Jeanne and focus on the task at hand.

"No way, we like you guys this way, your the best" Aura quick said with excitement.

Suddenly a black and reddish circular portal open and out stepped a vampire of short stature and has the appearance of a buxom fourteen-year-old girl. Described as true beauty, she has pale shiny skin, seductive crimson-red eyes, and fine facial features. Her silver hair is tied in a ponytail through a large ribbon on top of it all, allowing others full view of her face. The young vampire beauty wears a soft black evening dress with a big heavy skirt. Her upper body is dressed in a lace embellished ribbon and a short tailored jacket. Her hands are donned with long lace gloves, not exposing any bit of skin exterior she was holding a black and red umbrella.

"My, my it appears I'm the first to arrive" the vampire said as she quickly looked over to see both Momonga and Karna staring at her.

'Shalltear Bloodfallen, a true vampire she guard the first second and third floor of the great tomb of Nazarick, our ultimate 1v1 fighter the second strongest in Nazarick well that not including my own' Karna said to Momonga through **[MESSAGE] **again as he tries to remember everything about her.

"LORD KARNA!" Shalltear said in excitement as she dropped her umbrella and it disappeared into bats. She proceeded to run up to Karna shoving Aura aside In processed and wrapped her hand around his neck. But do to their size differences Karna had to bend down so that she does not have to dangle from his neck.

'...the hell?'

**[MESSAGE] **'Momonga help here'

'No'

'what did I do to you!?'

'You were the one that made me grope Albedo!'

``Oh come on like you didn't enjoy it!'

'Why didn't you do it then!?'

``I was going to get married, so I can't do that!'

"Hey stop it Shalltear your going to slobber on him!" Aura said with clear announced in her voice.

Shalltear remain still for a second and let go of Karna, she smirk "hello there half pints, I didn't realize you were here" she turned around to let Aura see the smirk plastered on her pale face "having such a foolish older sister must difficult Mare, how do you ever manage it".

This clearly angered Aura as she lowers her head and was shaking in rage "...m's fake tits" Aura retort.

"WHAT!" Shalltear screams in embarrassment as she cover her hand over her chest.

"Just as I thought, that why you went through the trouble of using a **[gate]**, you'd where in a hurry but since you over stuff your top so much you worried that they would shift if you ran here!" Aura point out.

"HUA, watch it elve you've got nothing but a boys chest!"

"True, but I'm only 76 years old I can still develop, while your stuck in an undead body, maybe should just expect those bug bits!"

"HOW DARE YOU, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'LL PAY SAYING THAT!" Shalltear said as she ran to where Aura was and got into a very heated argument.

"Talk about nostalgic there creator Bukubuku-Chagama and Peroroncino who is Shalltear creator would have fights like this all the time" Karna whisper to Momonga.

"Yeah no kidding"

"What a ruckus, STOP ACTING LIKE CHILDREN IN FRONT OF THE SUPREME ONES!" A deep and icy voice said.

The two previously mentioned supreme being looked in the direction of the owner voice just to see an enormous blue creature with the body size of 2.5m, the creature has the appearance of an insect walking on two feet - a fusion between a mantis and an ant. With a tail twice as long as his height, the thing was covered in sharp spikes like icicles and has a strong jaw that can easily snap people's hands.

In two of his hand he holds a silver halberd, while the remaining two hands hold a mace emitting black light and a crooked shape sheath which seems to be for a broadsword. With a breathtaking cold air, the pale blue, hardened bone armor oozes out diamond dust like bright light. His shoulders and back look like uplifted icebergs.

This was Cocytus guardians of the fifth floor.

'If I remember correctly Cocytus is the guardian of the fifth floor and the Personification of the word warrior' Momonga thoughts to himself.

"I'll stop when this elve bitch pays with her life!" Shalltear said as her hand was engulfed in what looks to be orbs of fire.

"Bring it vamp!" Aura said as she stretched out her wipe.

Cocytus taps his axe type spear in the ground causing the ground to freeze instantly, to the slight shock of Aura and Shalltear It slowly spread toward them.

'I think we should stop before this gets out of hand' Karna suggested through **[MESSAGE]**.

'Good idea' Momonga retorted

"Aura, Shalltear that enough we don't have time to be playing around!" Karna said in a commanding tone and his sharingan shine bright red. He accidentally activated one of his demon racial abilities **[DEMONIC FEAR] **an ability that caused extreme fear in a target (wild spawn beast) and can potentially kill them if they are level 40 and below.

It was a skill that you get to unlock when you have reached the highest level of the archdevil race. There were 4 stages of the ability, the weakest was known as **[DEMONIC RAGE] **an ability that slightly debuff an opponent and fed off any low level monster. One could sense extreme rage from the person and will be forced to flee if the opponent is level 30 or lower. Next was **[DEMONIC FEAR] **an ability that caused extreme fear in a target and can potentially kill them if they are level 40 and below. The second to last **[DEMONIC TERROR] **it is a permanent state of **[DEMONIC FEAR] **it will kill anyone with a level of 50 or below. The last and most deadly one is **[DEATHLY SIGHT] **this ability with kill anyone including level 100 players, who looking at the user's eyes for more than 5 seconds.

""FORGIVE ME, MY LORDS"" Aura and Shalltear said in unison as they both bowed in fear.

"I'm glad you're here Cocytus" Momonga said while he emanate the present of an absolute ruler.

"I will always come when you call supreme ones!" Cocytus said with conviction and pride in his voice as he breathed out an icy breath.

Another voice range through the amphitheatre "apology everyone I hope you weren't waiting to long" they all turn to see the owner of this smooth and gentle voice but at the same time a cold and evil tone lurks behind it like a mask covering a face.

About 1.8 meters tall, he is a demon with slightly darker skin and nicely combed black hair. Behind the round glasses are eyes so squinty that they are not normally visible. Wearing a British suit with a tie, he is dressed like a gentleman. Behind his back is a silver tail, covered with metal plates and six long spikes at the end. The demon pair of eyes lack eyeballs, in fact, shining jewels with numerous small cuts take the place of his eyeballs.

This was demiurge guardians of the seventh floor and defensive leader of the great underground tomb of Nazarick. He was walking behind the beautiful Albedo as they made their way to there masters. Behind them walked the pleiades six sisters.

"Demiurge he's an insanely powerful demon, and guardians of the tomb seventh floor, if Nazarick is ever in crisis he is said to lead the other in it defense" Momonga quietly whisper to Karna.

Albedo walk in front of the other guardians as she was there overseer. Demiurge walk next to Mare who was next to Aura. Shalltear was also next to Aura and Cocytus was behind her.

Suddenly a white light flashed in the sky and shot down like a pillar and out came 3 angels and 4 demons and Astil appears out of the flashing light, they landed elegantly and the 3 angel retract their wings.

The most beautiful and most powerful of the angel was an absolute beauty. She has long purple-pink hair that reach down to her knees and two white wings protruding near her hips. Her pupils are purple surrounded by a gold iris but a cross shape appears in her pupils when she is focusing on a task (such as performing a spell). Instead of a normal ears her ears are shaped like wings with brown textured at it tips and she also has a halo over her head. She usually wears a white tank top that exposes her back accept for a strap that connects the lower half of her tank top to her. She also has a large purple item that is in the shape of the last Greek letter omega and there is also a purple diamond shape crystal st it center. This item serves as a connection to the upper half of her tank top to her neck. There is also a golden ring under her chest to hold two pieces connecting to her tank top. There was also a red marking on it left sided. She mostly have her midriff exposed and wears a long yellow cloth it was connected to her through her purple belt, the cloth serves as a cover for her lower half. At the Side of the belt there were 3 kite shaped objects that serve the purpose of connecting the yellow cloth to her side. She has also a slim and well-endowed body. She has the physique of that of a 17-18 year old but in actuality is much older.

**Jibril: stats ** **karma** -**200 neutral evil**

**-Health Point:80 **

**Magic Point:90 **

**Physical Attack:85 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack:100+ **

**Magic Defense****:90 **

**AGILITY:85 **

**RESISTANCE:90 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:85 **

**Total points: 790+**

This was the second in command of the angeloids jibril.

**Jibril**

**Jibril seems to be soft spoken and polite woman, but she can also be incredibly condescending to any being who is not created by the supreme beings. Despite her initial arrogance, she has a high sense of honor while fighting, as she doesn't like to cheat, or be cheated. She tends to remember the "good old days" back when she and her master and the other supreme beings fought other guilds and high level creatures and how she would kill them, this somewhat shows her sadistic personality. She also has a great love for knowledge and gets easily excited at the prospect of gaining new knowledge. She is also perceptive, being able to uncover any weakness in any complex magic where none of her sister can do so. Jibril fully embraces her servitude to Karna, she always address him as "Master". Throughout her life, Jibril's feelings for her master seem to grow, but she was hesitant to accept her feelings do to her belief that she was a mere weapon for the supreme ones and nothing more. However she eventually gave in and fully in brace the fact that she was in love with her creator.**

The second beautiful and powerful angel has a voluptuous build with long, rosy-pink hair styled in pigtails secured with dark-pink ribbons. Her hair also has an "ahoge" (a long strand of protruding hair, which usually twitches when her master is in danger). She has emerald-colored eyes, except for when she is in battle mode, during which her eyes become red and her hair becomes more unkempt with a halo appearing above her head. She wears a choker with a broken off chain attached to it. Her main outfit comprising of a mostly tight white shirt with black stripes outlining over the edge of her chest, and her outfit split in the center going down to her stomach and her navel, She also wears a pair of white wrist gauntlet with an indent at both it side in the shape of a circle and a black arm sleeves held together the gauntlet that went up to her elbow. She also wears a short white skirt with a black line that rotate across near edge of the skirt, the skirt was kept attached to her shirt by a white belt. her wing is a light shade of pink.

**Ikarus: stats ** **karma** **50 neutral good**

**Health Point:90 **

**Magic Point:85 **

**Physical Attack****:85 **

**Physical ****Defense:100 **

**Magic Attack:95 **

**Magic Defense:100 **

**AGILITY:85 **

**RESISTANCE:90 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:80**

**-Total points: 725**

This is Ikarus, a warfare type angeloid mobile alpha.

**Ikarus**

**Ikarus is submissive, melancholic, and usually placid but resort to violence if she sees her master, Karna, in any type of danger. She is fiercely loyal to Karna and does anything to please and protect him. She also loves anything round and smooth, such as watermelons. She has incrementally developed the capacity to experience various emotions, such as sorrow, love, anger and more. This is due to her emotional capacity being low, Ikarus was initially unable to experience or express emotion. She has developed intense feelings towards her master Karna, but was unable to express them.**

Next to Ikarus was the shortest angeloid she have long blue hair, which is styled in twin-pigtails with bangs that fall irregularly against her relatively pale skin. She has ultramarine eyes and eyebrows that are in the same powder blue as her hair. Her collar is also much different than that of ikarus. It is thicker than her neck and around the same width as her head, covering all of her neck, but is also much bulkier and nowhere near as fitted as other collars seen on Ikarus. Her wings are not feathers; rather, they are more like the iridescent wings of an insect, with hues varying anywhere between the colors of purple and green. She usually wears an extremely short dress with black, vertical stripes going down the front ending at her thighs, and white gloves that go up to the elbows. She wears a cape of two colors, white on the outside and salmon on the inside, that is split into many slitted rectangles, and shoulder pads. She also wears high boots that are mainly white but change to a coal color that go up to her thighs too; there are two thin strips of white cloth connecting her boots and the main article of clothing she wears.

**Nymph: stats ** **karma** -**200 evil**

**Health Point:95 **

**Magic Point****:90 **

**Physical Attack:75 **

**Physical Defense:80 **

**Magic Attack:85 **

**Magic Defense:85 **

**AGILITY:90 **

**RESISTANCE:100 (exceed limit) **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:80**

**-Total points: 690+**

This was nymph an electric warfare angeloid type beta.

**Nymph**

**She is condescending toward humans, whom she refers to as "bugs." She has a sweet tooth; she will always have a snack or a bag of chips and other junk food with her. She is interested in watching soap operas and she also has a fondness for birds. In her daily life She refers to the other Angeloids by their types rather than their names (i.e. Ikaros→Alpha). Due to her Angeloid settings, she is also an intellectual genius. She is sometimes depicted as more spiteful than most other people, to the extent of being almost sadistic against those she believes to be lower (which is everyone beside the creation of the supreme beings). She never displays any remorse for any actions she does toward those who she deemed lesser than her, revealing a darker side of her.**

On the demons sided the youngest of them has black eyes and slightly long spiky black hair that hung over his face as bangs with a blue tint. He wears a light gray high collar and short sleeve shirt that is zipped up. He also wears a dark blue pants, over which hangs a blue cloth that covers him from his stomach to his knees, which he secures with a purple rope belt, on his side was sheath sword that has no guard.

**Sasuke Uchiha: stats ** **karma** -**100 neutral evil**

**-Health Point:100 **

**Magic Point:100 **

**Physical Attack:80 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack:90 **

**Magic Defense:85 **

**AGILITY:85 **

**RESISTANCE:90 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:95**

**-Total points: 810**

This was Sasuke Uchiha one of Karna personal creations.

On sasuke right stand a fairly tall man of fair complexion. He had onyx eyes, under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. He wears a high collar black cloak with red clouds pattern on it and he would sometimes unbutton his cloak to mid-chest and rest his left arm there, rather than in the sleeve. Under his cloak he wore a mesh armour with navy accents under an identical T-shirt with a simple white belt around the waist and dark blue pants. On his right ring finger was a ring, which was red and bore the kanji for "vermilion". He wore light blue nail polish on his fingers and toes and a necklace that had three silver rings with red gems inside them.

**Itachi Uchiha: stats ** **karma** -**50 neutral evil**

**Health Point****:85 **

**Magic Point:90 **

**Physical Attack:80 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack:85 **

**Magic Defense:95 **

**AGILITY:90 **

**RESISTANCE:100 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:100**

**-Total points: 810**

This is Itachi Uchiha also one of Karna personal creations

On Itachi side there stood a man of equal age in appearance to him, he had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair, black eyes and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turned upwards at each end. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-coloured outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders

**Shisui Uchiha: stats ** **karma** **50 neutral **

**Health Point:80 **

**Magic Point:95 **

**Physical Attack:80 **

**Physical Defense:80 **

**Magic Attack:****95 **

**Magic Defense:85 **

**AGILITY:100 **

**RESISTANCE:95 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:100**

**-Total points: 810**

This is Shisui Uchiha also one of Karna personal creations

And the last members is the strongest of the uchiha brothers, he wore a white mask with a purple tint that covers the entire upper half of his head. The mask's design resembles a ripple pattern with three tomoe around the centre, two of which act as the mask's eye-holes. His attire includes a pair of black pants and gloves, with a white form-fitting shirt underneath.[42] Over this he wears a purple, high-collared, long sleeve mantle that splits down the lower half and has the Uchiha crest on the back. Around his waist he wears a simple, light-purple obi and a belt. Strapped to his back is Karna's gunbai, now purple with black trimmings and black tomoe, connected to a black chain that runs up his right sleeve.

**Obito Uchiha: stats ** **karma** **-200 pure evil **

**Health Point:100 **

**Magic Point****:80 **

**Physical Attack:80 **

**Physical Defense:85 **

**Magic Attack****:90 **

**Magic Defense:90 **

**AGILITY:95 **

**RESISTANCE:95 **

**SPECIAL ABILITY:100**

**-Total points: 815**

This is Obito Uchiha the leader of the Uchiha brothers.

"My lord as requested I have brought my brothers and sisters" Astil said was she walked next to Albedo and slightly bowed.

The other guardians looked at the angeloid with adoration and respect. They were the first to be made by the supreme ones and the first guardians, they also act as the guilds ultimate team the Trinity sister and Uchiha brothers led by Astil and Obito some of the strongest in Nazarick.

Within Nazarick there is a system of command. The supreme ones stand at the top as the gods and rulers. Then there is the mediator between the gods and the other denizen of Nazarick which is Astil and her other 3 sisters who represents the Trinity sisters and the Uchiha army founded and created by Lord Karna but led by Obito and the other Uchiha brothers. For the Representative of the guardians and the other half of Nazarick denizen is Albedo.

"It surely has been a while seen I seen you all, I believe an introduction is in order, it such a rare sight, to have all the guardians gather like this" jibril elegant singsong voice said as the other nodded in agreement.

The angeloid walk next to the guardians and patiently await their representative to speak.

"Then I believe a ritual fidelity is in order" Obito said in a gentle and calm voice.

"Yes, I quite agree" Astil said. All the guardians and angeloid nodded in agreement and soon then form 3 groups the guardians, the angeloids and the demons, all neatly lined up from the youngest to oldest.

"My lord, we the guardians pledge our fidelity!" Albedo looked back at her lords her ladylike voice filled with pride and loyalty.

Shalltear took a step and bowed "I am the guardians of the first second and third floors, Shalltear Bloodfallen, I serve and obey" she said with a smile as raised her head slightly to look at her masters.

Cocytus was next to step up and bowed "guardians of the fifth floor, Cocytus I serve and obey!" Cocytus raises his head slightly to look at his masters.

"I am the guardian of the sixth floor, Aura Bella Fiora" Aura took a step and waited for her brother.

"I am also the guardian of the sixth floor, Mare Bello Fiore" he did the same as his sister.

""We serve and obey!"" they both said and bowed at the time.

"Guardians of the seventh, demiurge I serve and obey!" Like all the other he took step and bowed before the supreme ones.

"the guardian overseer, Albedo I serve and obey!" She bowed and continued "other than victim guardian of the eighth floor and gargantua who faithfully guard the forth, all the guardian have gathered as requested and pledged our undying loyalty!"

Astil step up as she was the leader of the Trinity sisters "my master whose power and wisdom transcend that of me and my sisters as well as that of the guardians I Astil, leader of the Trinity sisters, hereby pledge my undying loyalty to you the supreme being of both life and death itself, live only to serve and obey you!"

"I am a strategic warfare angeloid, type: alpha, the name that was bestowed upon me by lord Karna is Ikarus, I serve and obey" Ikarus said as she kneeled with respect and loyalty.

"I am a strategic Electronic Warfare Angeloid Type: Beta the name that was bestowed upon me by lord Karna is Nymph, l serve and obey" Nymph said as she kneeled with respect and loyalty.

"I am a Close Combat warfare angeloid type: delta the name that was bestowed upon me by lord Karna is Jibril, I serve and obey" Jibril said as she kneeled with respect and loyalty.

"I am the Leader of the 1st unit of The ANBU black ops, Sasuke Uchiha youngest of my brothers I serve and obey" Sasuke walk up to the guardians and kneeled.

"I am the Leader of the 2st unit of The ANBU black ops, Itachi Uchiha I serve and obey" Itachi walked up to Sasuke and kneeled.

"I am the Leader of the 3st unit of The ANBU black ops, Shisui Uchiha, I serve and obey" Shisui also walk up to where Itachi is and kneeled.

"And I am the Leader of the 4 unit of The ANBU black ops and the also it representative, I serve and obey" Obito simple kneeled as he was already next to Astil and Albedo.

"Supreme ones we await yours order, you need only but to ask of us and it shall be done!" Obito, Astil and Albedo said in perfect unison like they had already practiced a thousand times.

Momonga and Karna eyes shine brighter like a dole flame that was rekindle. The guardians the demons and the angeloid could feel their master unfathomable power and confidence as they await their orders.

'…WHAT DO WE DO NOW…!?' Momonga though.

**please review**


	2. Chapter 2 - Unexpected Return

**The Guardians and an Unexpected Return**

_-_The world of massively popular D-MMORAG, YGGDRASIL drastically change after it last day of serves, the magic and items can still be used but various rules have changed and the N.P.C had begun to move of their own volition-

"**Raised your head"** Momonga deep and commanding voice range through the silent as he accidentally activated the **[AURA OF DESPAIR lV]** which is a skill that range from 1-5 level. 1 being fear 2 being panic 3 being confusion 4 being insanity and 5 being death. This aura took the form of black mist that swirled around the skeleton overlord 'GEEZ can I look anymore depressed and hopeless!'

"I am very pleased that all of you have come…" Karna said as he looked at each of the N.P.C, that was kneeling before them.

"Yours thank are wasted upon us, we pledge ourselves to you and live to obey any and all of your orders Lord Karna, but I fear that our abilities may not meet your expectations, despite this we will strive to meet them in honor of the lost supreme beings, our blessed creators…" Albedo places her hand over her chest and raised her head height and spoke once again "This we vow!"

"THIS WE VOW!" All of the guardians, demons and angeloid said in perfect unison as if they had rehearsed this a thousand times.

"...most excellent my guardians, demons and angeloid, I have no doubt that you will fulfill your duties without fail!" Momonga and as he spread out both his arms as his jaw opens, the **[AURA OF DESPAIR lV]** take on full effect. Karna **[DEMONIC FEAR] **turn into **[DEMONIC TERROR]** and it mixed with Momonga **[AURA OF DESPAIR lV]**, the combined auras press down on the guardians, demons and angeloids making them shiver with the amount of power that was radiating off their master, this only serves to further their loyalty. The guardians, demons and the angeloids faces lit up in joy as the prospect of being acknowledged by a supreme being was indescribable.

"Now then, the situation outside the great tomb of Nazarick is at present and entirely unknown to us..." Karna said as he looked over and see sebas already kneeling at his side.

"With this in mind we'd had sebas survey the surrounding area, sebas reports!" Momonga said as he too notice sebas present.

"My lord I'm afraid that the great swamp that once surrounded the great tomb is now nowhere to be seen, instead we are surrounded by grassland" Sabas said as Momomga silently gasp in shock.

"Grassland?! Is there anything unusual about the grassland, and monster or traps?" Momonga questioned.

"No my lord" Sebas answered.

'No monster or traps?' Karna thought in confusion 'so we're not even in the YGGDRASIL world anymore, we're in a completely new world...this is getting more and more confusing…alright if that really is the case, then Nazarick safety comes first'

Within YGGDRASIL there were not a lot of safe areas where one can rest. This was put in by the dev because they wanted their players to explore their world they had created. So not many areas in YGGDRASIL were safe, and Nazarick being transported to a different location is impossible. Not even a World Item can't do that.

"Furthermore, I could not confirm a single building or life form one kilometer all around, it would seem we are completely insulated" Sebas said.

"Very good Sebas, you served us well" Momonga said as he turned to face his loyal subordinate.

Karna joined the conversation. "Narberal Gamma, Lupusregina Beta, you two both went with sebas, so i trust both of you can use the 'Flight' spell; I assume you took to the air to scout from above. Did you see anything other than what Sebas has said?"

The two named maids raised their heads, glanced at each other, and Narberal started speaking. "Yes lord Karna. I flew as high as I can as to get a better view of our surroundings. The grasslands described by lord Sebas extend for quite a distance, but in addition to that there are mountains to the north."

Lupusregina joined in, her voice low and abnormally solemn "There's also a big forest kind of close by, it seems to loop around south and then it goes west. It's really big, or at least it looked that way from where I could see it."

As Momonga started to think about where they might be, Karna continued. "Lupusregina, if im not mistacond, you have skills which let you detect things that others try to keep hidden right, have you discovered anything of note that has not been mentioned by Sebas or your Narberal?"

"I sense anything lord Karna."

"I see."

"As we suspected, Nazarick is transported to an unknown land by equals unknown means" Momonga said as his braid began to work itself into overdrive in order to think of what to do next.

Momonga was a bit frustrated with the lack of concrete information, although the tidbit about the mountains and forest was useful, he still couldn't guess where they might be, but he was fairly certain that they were no longer in YGGDRASIL. Looking around, he was sure that his companions felt the same way.

He figured that the best thing to do in this unknown situation would be to increase their security. If the land that they were occupying was under someone else's control then they would certainly be on their way here already. If that happened they had to be prepared.

"My Guardians, Angeloids and Demons"

Every eye was immediately on him. "In this unknown situation, you are each to raise the security of your assigned floors. In the event that intruders enter Nazarick, they are to be captured alive, not killed, and you are not to harm them if possible. I am sorry to burden everyone with this during this unknown situation" Momonga commanded.

The Floor Guardians all bowed in acknowledgement of this order.

Karna turned to Albedo "Next, Albedo, I wish to understand precisely how this organization operates, how do the Floor Guardians exchange information during a situation like this?"

During the days of YGGDRASIL, each Guardian was in charge of their own floor and couldn't leave it. Nor were the AIs capable of exchanging information with one another. Momonga wanted to know how this might have changed.

Albedo raised her head to address him. "Each Guardian defends their floor according to their own judgment. However, Demiurge is in charge of the defenses of the entirety of Nazarick, so everyone shares their gathered information with him."

"Then floor guardians overseer Albedo and defensive leader Demiurge, I have a task for you" Momonga aura flared up and the N.P.C shivered.

"Lord!"

"Fortified our defense and work on a way to strengthen our information gathering network and the rest of you will follow their lead" Karna said "I want to be able to quickly and easily disseminate information to everyone significant in Nazarick at a moment's notice, understand?"

"Yes my lord!"

"Lord Momonga, I trust that we aren't to include the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors in this planning correct?" Albedo asked.

"That's right." Karna said.

"Understood my lord."

Momonga looked at Karna, why would he not want the ninth and tenth floors included in the planning?

He wanted to ask, but now was not the time to do so, not with this audience. Rather than dwell on that, he decided to move on to the next idea.

Momonga now realizing he needs to give command to began to follow along "Mare is there any way to conceal the great tomb?"

"Yes, though it would be difficult if all we used is magic, but if we cover the walls with dirt and visitation, I think it would help to camouflage us from intruders-" Mare was then cut off by Albedo.

"You want to smear Nazarick glorious wall with dirt!" Albedo growled.

"Albedo don't make meaningless remarks" Karna said coldly. Though Albedo didn't dare to look up but she was sure the supreme one was glaring at her with his powerful curse eyes, the sharingan.

"Y-Yes lord, please forgive me, I was careless" Albedo said in a shaky voice as she can feel Lord Karna intense aura, her body tense with fear. The other Guardians, Angeloid and even the Demons ANBU, Sebas and the Pleiades included, all went still as though the order was meant for them as well. Soon Karna aura lessened much to Albedo relief.

To the denizens of Nazarick, Karna Vi Uchiha was a living legend among them, a genius strategist and a powerful warrior and commander, he was known as the DEMON EMPEROR with unmatched strength and knowledge. The Warmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, arguably the strongest among the 41 supreme beings.

"Are you certain that the dirt will be sufficient Mare?" Momonga continue on with is question 'I think that was a bit too hard on her'.

"Yes I am, as long as you allow it of course, except…" Mare trailed off.

"Right one round of mound would look unnatural" Momonga said "Then Sebas, are there any hill around the tomb that we can blend in with?"

"No the area is berend, nothing but flat land as far as the eye can see" sebas said.

"Then fortunately the land can be molded to suit our needs" Momonga said

"then making dummies hill will suffice" Momonga said.

"Afterward we will use illusion magic to cover any area we cannot cover" Momonga said as he looked at Mare for conformation.

"O-off courses my lord, it will be done" Mare said.

That was when Karna stepped in. "Wait, I don't think this is a good idea."

Everyone immediately looked at him, Momonga included. "You don't think this would work Karna?"

Karna shook his head. "No, we should try to avoid any disruption to the surrounding landscape, we're trying to hide ourselves here, right, so it might work to hide this place from someone just passing through for the first time, but we don't have enough information to make any kind of guess as to what we'll encounter here, anyone or anything familiar with this area would notice a bunch of hills appearing out of nowhere one day, if anything, it would be more obvious than a tom, there are other considerations too."

He took a breath and continued. "According to Sebas, there are no signs of humans or any other civilization. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Momonga, you're worried about the possibility that someone owns this land, right? And that they might already be on their way here, yes?"

The servant of the supreme beings tensed there master words, at the possibility of incoming enemies. Momonga tentatively nodded and Karna continued on "If that's the case, then they likely already know where we are and trying to hide is pointless. If not, it's possible that using large scale magic to alter things could set off some kind of sensor that would alert such individuals to our presence here. Or otherwise gain attention that we'd rather avoid. For example, there's no guarantee that there are any humans at all here, the Great Tomb of Nazarick may very well be directly on top of a kingdom of usbteraining beings, or there could be nothing at all out there. For all we know, we could literally be the only sentient things in this world and we'll never find anything capable of even having a conversation outside of this Tomb. We don't know enough to say anything in any case, nor support even the flimsiest of assumptions. With that said, we should try towards the subtle and the least obtrusive. We should go with illusion magic and concealed the entire tomb."

Momonga appreciated the insight, he brought up a number of points that Momonga himself never considered, or never wanted to consider, but he had to point out the flaw.

"But, Karna, we don't have enough spell casters with illusion abilities to hide all of Nazarick."

"That is were I say incorrect my friend, we don't need to hide Nazarick at all times"

Momonga wasn't sure where he was going with this, but he didn't say anything, hoping he would continue on his own.

Momonga got his wish. Karna continued on "We can't maintain illusions of that scale indefinitely, but we could manage it for several hours at a time. I propose that we immediately begin scouting the surrounding area. We have to get well acquainted with the ground we will be defending. We determine lines of sight to Nazarick from every direction, as well as search for any sign of regular occupation or travel, roads, anything. Then we place watchers with stealth capabilities well away from Nazarick, far enough that they're at least half an hour away from even seeing Nazarick, to keep an eye out for anyone who might get too close. We give them each a 'Message' scroll. Upon sighting anything unsavory the watchers can use the scroll to warn us, and we can have our spell casters place illusions over wherever the interloper might see. If the watcher reports that there's someone in the northwest, heading south, we cast illusions to cover the north, west, and south to ensure that he doesn't see anything as he passes by. Then a watcher farther south reports that he's gone, we're all clear, and we drop the illusion to save mana. The issue would be anything that can fly, but we have spell item with enough magic to place an illusion over the top of the Tomb twenty four hours a day and still maintain this system."

"Overall, I think that this is best. It may be pointless, and if we run into anything that can see through the illusions then our cover is blown, but we run that risk anyway. It's more work, but it should be far less obvious that we're trying to hide something rather than just erecting a bunch of hills. What do you all think?"

Everyone was completely silent. The Guardian, the Angeloid and Demon ANBU was in awe.

Momonga was taken aback by the idea, but as he thought it over he concluded that it had merit. There were issues, like Karna said anything that could see through illusions would spot them. But if they went with Mare's hill plan they'd still have to rely on illusions to protect their roofs from sight so they were running the same risk either way.

The Guardians angeloids And demons wasted no time on praising the idea.

"As expected from one of the Supreme Beings, a superb idea!"

"I-I suppose that makes more sense than the hills."

"You see Mare, you shouldn't be thinking about stuff like dirtying Nazarick's walls, you have to think things through!"

"A. Splendid. Idea. Lord. Karna. I. am. in. awe!"

Karna nodded and pointed to Demiurge. "Then if everyone agree, Demiurge, you'll be in charge of scouting the surface and putting this into motion, understood?"

Without missing a beat Demiurge replied "Certainly Lord Karna, I shall ensure that everything meets your expectations supreme one." Demiurge said with a wicked smile.

"Excellent"

"Also contingency plan must be made, the possibility that someone that can see through the illusion still exist, so than Nazarick will be in danger" Karna said.

"So do have anything in mind if that were to happen?" Momonga asked.

"Yes I do" Karna said confidently "first we need to build 4 dummy Nazarick on north, west, south and east of the tomb with 5 rings of defense 1 kilometer away from the actual tomb"

The Guardians saw the cunning behind the move but still felt there was something they miss, to see the entire picture, except Demiurge who smiled widely.

"Brilliant my lord!" simply said the Archdevil "absolutely brilliant, turning a disadvantage situation into a benefit for Nazarick, no doubt your cunning was legendary my Lords".

"Ah, as expected of you Demiurge, Ubert did an excellent job with you" commented Karna "to unravel my five steps plan in a second, i'm impressive"

'I have a feeling that me and Demiurge are going to get along quite well'

"You honored me lord Karna" sighed Demiurge, feeling disappointed in himself "but I thought it was a four-step plan, I am still unable to comprehend your greatness".

'WHAT, and I thought it was a three steps plan, lure enemies in, test their strength with the five defense layer and loot their corpses, this is harder than I thought" Momonga release a mental sigh 'great I have role play like my life depends on it now, why are you so smart Karna!?'

"don't sell yourself short Demiurge" Karna said "you just have to think outside the box a little"

"I humbly thank you for your words of wisdom my lord!" deeply thanked Demiurge 'truly every individual Supreme Beings as worthy of respect and admiration'.

"Then going by your plan, once the dummy Nazarick is complete" continued Momonga expecting to sound and appear as an all-mighty Ruler whose foresight was beyond divine "we will use a combination of illusion spells and gradually stronger undead monsters on the defense layer".

"Five concentric rings of defense" added Karna "with low tier undead monsters on the first to third one and perhaps a Death knights on the final two before they reach the dummy Nazarick"

"And they were able to take the dummy Nazarick and If any get close to the real Nazarick then..."

"We will send out a band of low level monster with gold and have them patrol near the real Nazarick, if they are attacked, they will retreat to the first floor thus leading the individual to explore the real Nazarick right?" Momonga summarized.

"Correct, this sacrificial pawns will allow us some extraordinaire information about what we could expect outside" explained Karna "until I am proven wrong, I will assume that there are stronger players than us out there, with this undead, we can test how strong and what their true intentions are, by putting some minor treasures in the low level undead".

"If any intruder kill the undead and take the treasure and tries to walk away" snorted Karna "then he was a low level filth that will soon be interrogated for information and once done they will be killed and used to replace the undead they had destroyed, if they ignore the treasure and keep entering, then they know about the real Nazarick, and that is the real treasure here".

"Information, resources, slaves, ingredients and items" continued Karna with a softly but cruel laugh that send shivers through the spines of the servant of Nazarick and Momonga "five steps, five objectives like the five fingers of my hand" he raised his own gloved hand and clenched it like a fist, making all the Guardians, Angeloid and Demons shiver under the cold and soul-shattering sensation that emanated for their supreme ones " this will crush any fool that tries to cause harm to my sacred home!" his eyes began to glow red and he ended the explanation of his plan with an evil smirk.

"That will be your orders!" said Karna "capture all intruders alive, that are capable of defeating anything beyond the third ring of defense, then we could see what kind of world have we ended here".

"YES MY LORD!" Cheered the servant of supreme being.

"now then, before you go anand carry out your task, I have a question that I would like each of you to answer…" Momonga said as he looked at each of the guardians, the demons and the angeloid.

Karna keching on, said "starting with you Shalltear, tell me in your own words what kind of person we are to you"

"For lord Momonga, he is beauty incarnate, there is nothing living or undead that can rival your radiant glow my Lord~" Shalltear raises her head and blush "and as for Lord Karna he is the embodiment of vampires and demon kind, and he is like if power took on physical form itself, you are undoubtedly the strongest supreme beings to have ever existed~".

"Cocytus"

"Men's whose strength rival and surpass any beings, you are truly worthy of being the absolute rulers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick"

"Aura"

"Compassionate and strong, you two are always 3 step ahead of the game"

"Mare"

"Y-you both are leader whose is kind as well as merciful" Mare said shyly.

"Demiurge"

"The highest form of existence, both you and Lord Karna are men that make wise decisions and acts upon them efficiently and without any form of hesitation, also your enigmatic nature makes impossible to Predict you"

"Sebas"

"The both of you are the most powerful supreme beings, and are merciful enough to have stayed with us to the very end even though the other supreme beings have abandoned us"

'...that a red flag, so they think that the other has abandoned them then…I can't blame them but I need to address this issue someday' Karna thought.

"And lastly Albedo"

"You are the highest ranking members of the supreme beings our ultimate master and the rulers of Nazarick Lord Karna…and you lord Momonga are the man that whomp my heart belongs~!"

"U-um-mm y-yes I see" Momonga stutter 'I walked into that one'

"Now moving on to the angeloid" Momonga turn his skull to look at the sisters.

"Astil"

"You and Lord Karna are our most exalted masters, and I say this for my sisters as well, but out of all the creators that lived in this world, we are glad it was you that stay with us to the very end"

"Jibril"

"Wise and powerful, you and my creator lord Karna are the embodiment of perfection itself"

"Ikarus"

"A kind, caring and loving master that would do anything to protect us, and you are our most exalted master lord Karna as well as our creator"

"Nymph"

"You're wise and intelligent, and you are the embodiment of the word supreme beings, not even I or demiurge could match your intellect, I am proud to call you my master"

"Obito"

"I speak this for myself and on behalf of my brothers, you two are the most wise and powerful supreme being to have ever lived, and furthermore I would like to say this on behalf of all of Nazarick, of all the creator that lived in this world we are entirely grateful that it is you who had stayed".

The guardians and angeloid nodded in approval and all looked to see the reaction of their god.

"We have heard your thought and now have given you your order, go and work fatefully in our names!" Momonga said as he taps the staff on the floor.

"YES MY LORD!"

In a flash of blue light, Momonga and Karna disappears via the teleporting power of their guild rings.

**-In a hallway that led to the guild master office in the 9th floor-**

"I'm beat…" Momonga said with a heavy sigh "Why do they have such glorious views of us…"

Karna sigh "Well to them we are akin to gods, they say we created them and they even call us supreme beings, so that thought isn't impossible".

Back at the arena the guardians remain kneeling even after their supreme beings teleported away. None stood up as they all were slightly shaken after their God's just given them their orders.

After short awhile Albedo, Obito and Astil stood up first as they are responsible for making examples for others to follow. Albedo brush the dirt that stain her white dress and flap her black wings to get rid of the dirt that clung to her feathers.

"I t-thought I was going to faint, t-that was s-so scary" Mare shaken voice said as he stood up with the support of his wooden staff.

"Seriously I thought the pressure would crush us" Aura helping her brother stood up said.

"To think that they would be this amazing, supreme beings indeed" Cocytus said.

Albedo gently claps her hands together like she was praying "when they show their true power and authority, they are even more ~_glorious~_ than I imagine~" the memories of Lord Karna scolding her was still fresh in her mind.

"Indeed" Demiurge simply replied while pushing up his glasses.

"I also agree" Ikarus said. Though her beautiful face did not show any emotion her tone betrayed her expression. It was filled with loyalty and pride to her masters.

"especially Lord Karna~" Jibril said as she put bother her hand on either side of her cheeks with a deep blush "he was so commanding and air around him was so cold~".

"Calm down would you sis" nymph said as she shook her head, but they cannot denied that Jibril words are true.

"They seem pleased with our vow of fidelity, I hope that is the case" Astil said.

"They acted completely different when they were alone with Mare and me, in fact lord Momonga even offered us some drinks because he thought we looked thirsty and Lord Karna even pats us on the head" Aura smiled and had a tint of red on her cheek.

Meanwhile Albedo panting grow and her wing began to flap up and down uncomfortably.

"That just proved they are true rulers through and through, their power and mercy make them amazing" Mare said.

Albedo panting turn into a low moan and in an instant she turn around with wide eyes and a big smile and a bush that spread from ear to ear. Her hand still in the praying position "IT JUST AS YOU SAY Mare, they were incredible weren't they, they sense our feelings and acted upon them accordingly as an absolute rulers should!" Albedo continue and the guardians watched with a smile as they couldn't agree more "of all the supreme beings they stand at the top, and when all the other had left us behind they Mercifully stayed with us!"

"If there is nothing more I will return to my duty, I do not know where lord Momonga and Lord Karna is but wherever they are I should stay by their side" Sebas said.

"Then I shall join you sebas" Astil said.

"Very well sebas, if anything happens please inform me immediately, especially if lord Momonga wish me personally l will rush to his side no matter what I have to scarified!" Albedo said with a smile and a blush that spread from ear to ear.

"But If Lord Momonga want me to join him in his personal bedchamber than I would need time to prepare!" Albedo continues with her ramble, some of guardians such as Aura and Mare who were to young to understand look at her with a smile while Demiurge and Cocytus just sigh alone with the demons and angeloids.

"You'd made yourself very clear, now if you would excuse me I must take my leave" Sebas said with a bow and walked away alone with Astil.

At this point did the other guardians and angeloids heard a small moaning sound coming from behind the guardians. They all turn around to see Shalltear still kneeling but with a deep blush and her head hung lower casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Is there something wrong Shalltear?" Demiurge ask with genuine worried for his fellow guardians.

"Are you hurt, ill?" Cocytus said.

Shalltear raises her head and put a hand to her chest clutching it tightly "n-no I'm fantastic, I just got over stimulated is all, there combined power was so intense my undergarment when thought a small crisis"

"DISGUSTING BITCH!" Without missing a beat Albedo yell with furry and a dark purple, black Aura surrounded her.

"What!?" Shalltear growled as she raised from her kneeling position.

"Don't pretend you aren't thrilled with the gift they just gave us, they share so much of their power, if something that incredible doesn't make you wet, you must be ransent gorilla fat-skirt!" Shalltear said angrily as a dark red Aura emanates from her body.

"YOU FILTHY PIRACITE!" Albedo scream as her aura got more intense.

"The supreme begins made me is what I am, and I take pride in it, and a big mouth idiotic gorilla like you won't change that!" Shalltear Aura match Albedo.

"Keep flapping those fangs lambray and see where it gets you!"

"Riiight, Aura I'll let you deal with the women's issues" Demiurge said.

"WOH not so fast you can't dump this on me!" Aura turned to Demiurge and yelled.

"If it starts to get bloody I'll intervene" Demiurge turned around and walked off alone with the remaining demons, guardians and angeloids.

"Goodness, is this really something to fighting over" Jibril giggles.

"You too Jibril!" Aura wince.

"Their bickering aside, it would be quite interesting to see the results of such a union" Demiurge said.

"What?" Mare tilted his head in confusion.

"It would be a great addition to our forces, and it would pave the way to Nazarick future" Demiurge explain.

"I'm not sure I follow you" Mare confusion grew.

Demiurge sigh "every great ruler need an heir don't they, lord Momonga and lord Karna stayed behind in till the very end however someday they may leave to join the other supreme beings where they might be, therefore it would be nice if the left an heir we could pledge our loyalty too, agreed?"

"Um so you're saying that we should let one of them give birth to lord Momonga or lord Karna heir?" Mare question.

"BLASPHEMY, if we do our jobs then that won't be needed!" Cocytus shouted.

"Yes you are right, but instead of serving one lord we can pledge ourselves to their line" Demiurge turned to Cocytus and explained.

"Ohh that would kinda be nice, NO THAT WOULD BE AMAZING, I COULD SEE SO CLEARLY NOW, I WOULD BE UNCLE COCYTUS!" Cocytus yield in happiness as he began to daydream of the even.

"If you are so intrigued by the prospect of a child born to a supreme beings that role may have already been filled" Jibril said gaining the attention of the other guardians.

"WHAT?!" The guardians yelled.

Albedo And Shalltear quite their cat fight and ran over to where Jibril was and bombard her with questions.

"What do you mean by -a child born to a supreme beings that role may have already been filled!?" Albedo and Shalltear yield.

The other guardians looked at jibril with curiosity and waited for an answer.

"Well Lord Karna may already has a child" Nymph said.

"WITH WHO!" Shalltear yield in absolute raged.

"With Lady Jeanne" Ikarus cut in.

"WHAT!?" The guardians surprised grew even more.

"Didn't you know, they are married" Obito explains like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I didn't know about this!" Shalltear said.

"Maybe It because you weren't made yet" Sasuke said.

"Oh, that's right, it was before they were made" Jibril said as she put a finger under her lips as she slightly floated off the ground.

"Please explains" Demiurge said as he pushed up his glasses.

"Well long ago when we were first created by Lord Karna, he was already married to Lady Jeanne" Shisui said.

"Not long after that they probably had an heir, but I do not know where he or she is or maybe they didn't even exist, it was just a rumor amongst the supreme beings" Itachi said as he began to wonder.

"This is fascinating!" Demiurge said with a smile and said "this mean Nazarick future is Secured!"

"But it may just be rumors and besides where is the supreme ones child now?" Shalltear wonders.

"We don't know if it is rumors or not" the angeloid said "only Astil knows"

"Shouldn't you know as well, you are the supreme one personal guard?" Cocytus said as he looked at the Uchiha brothers.

"Information about Lady Jeanne are kept secret even from us, we primarily guard the supreme ones personal realm, we only saw her a couple of times" Obito said.

"Why is that?" Aura said with confusion.

"I don't know the specifics, but it was rumour by the supreme beings that lady Jeanne was pregnant, so as to not draw Nazarick enemy attention, they kept her safe and hidden in the heart of Nazarick" Obito explain.

"Fascinating!" Demiurge said in wonders as he spread his arm out properly show his excitement and wonders. It was a true honor to hear the tales and legend of the almighty supreme one.

"I have a question, you just mentioned the supreme ones personal realm, what does that mean?" Albedo question.

"We aren't given any information or explanation on that, all we know is to guard that area with our lives, but if I had to guess it probably the birth place or a portal that led to the supreme one realm" Obito said.

"Not to be a party crusher, but for right now I think you guardians should focus on the task that our master has given you all" Jibril said.

"Right!"

"Now then it time to begin planning" Albedo said.

All the Floor Guardians lowered their heads in respect. However, they did not genuflect.

Of course, they had to show their respect to the Guardian Overseer Albedo, but she was not their master. While the Forty One Supreme Beings had set her over all the other characters that they had created, but even the position of Guardian Overseer was merely one set down by the Forty One Supreme Beings, and as such the other Guardians needed only to pay her the respect due to her station. Thus, they lowered their heads to her. On her part, Albedo was not angry at this, because she knew that was the most correct course of action.

**2 DAYS LATER -Within Momonga room-**

"I'd only took on a class of a magic caster but since I am a level 100 should have enough strength to swing a sword right?" Momonga said as he picked up a sword out of a container filled with sword and swung it, but it dropped out of his hand.

"Knew it" Karna said and picked up the sword that Momonga just dropped.

"So it looks like I can't use any item that aren't specific to my in game class" Momonga said "it been 2 days since we'd come to this world and not once had I felt uneasy about my undead form"

"Maybe your mentality changes along with your appearance?" Karna pointed out "we'd know that if you get emotional, then some outside forces calm you down, that bears investigation"

"Your right, and I haven't felt the need to eat or sleep since we came to this new world" Momonga said.

"**[CREATE GREATER ITEMS]"** Momonga was bath in a blue light, when it died down he was wearing a full plate black armor with gold trim and a red cape.

Momonga grab the sword that Karna was holding and swing it with all his might, the result was a shockwave of wind. Thanks to "**[CREATE GREATER ITEMS]" **he was able to change his outfit thus changing classes from a magic caster to a warrior. Thought this does has it droback as well for instant he is not as strong as a regular warrior even though they are the same level.

"So it really is like YGGDRASIL, if a magic item allows it, you can surpass your class restrictions" Karna said.

Karna body glow red as the spike on his armor disappears along with his red ethereal energy cape. In it place was a red fur cloak and 4 blade was attached to the red fur cloak.

"Why change?" Momonga questioned.

"Why wear the armor?" Karna retorted "and beside it more comfortable not wearing my full gear all the time, that cape was getting annoying"

—**BEEP—Jeanne D'arc has logged in—**

"...Um...Did you hear that?" Momonga quickly turn around to Karna and said.

Karna and Momonga looked around frantically.

"That doesn't make any sense, the server should have ended 2 days ago, so how is Jeanne supposed to log in!?" Momonga wonder.

"I don't know and I don't care, all I want to know is where is she!" Karna reach into thin air and polled out a scroll. He threw it into the air and the scroll quickly burst into blue flame.

"**[DETECT ALLY PLAYER]"** Karna waited and turn to Momonga "s-she outside the tomb!?".

"Really, how!?"

"I don't know but let's go and see her" Karna and Momonga quickly walked out of the room, only to see one of the battle maids standing just outside their door.

"We will be leaving the tomb to go outside for a bit" Momonga said turning to the maid name Narberal Gamma, the only creation of their friend Nishiki Enrai.

"Then the guard shall accompanies you my lords just give the word and-" Naberal was cut off.

"No need, we will go alone" Karna said dismissively.

"Please wait lord, if you leave without an armed escort, we will be unable to protect you, it is our sworn duty to act as you shield!" Narberal desperately persisted.

"I won't allow it, there something we would like to do discreetly, our decision is made" Momonga said as he and Karna began to walk off.

"As you wish my lords" Narberal sounded disappointed, as she looked at her lord retreating form as they got further away from her, she silently prayed that they would be safe. Although she truly believes that nothing can harm or match a supreme beings power, that still doesn't lessen her worries because for a servant that cannot protect their master no matter how strong the master is, that servant is a failure.

Using the power of the guild ring, the 2 supreme beings teleported to first floor entrench.

"This so tiring" Karna said.

"Tell me about it, I won't be able to use magic in this armor, but I can make do with my items" Momonga said as he and Karna walked up the stairs to the central mausoleum.

When they made it halfway up the stairs, they saw 3 demon blocking their path.

'Woh, Jealousy, Averas and Wrath, what are the 3 demon general under Demiurge command doing here!?' Momonga thought.

The Evil Lords are Demiurge's personal bodyguards. They are monsters around level 80-90, who spawned in Demiurge's realm of the Underground Volcano, near the door to the 8th Floor with the responsibility of guarding it.

However the three Evil Lords were ordered by Demiurge to be on standby and watch the 1st Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick after its unexpected transition into the New World.

The Evil Lords' level were estimated to be around 80 and are capable of calling forth an army of demons. However, it comes with a recharge period in doing so once a single day.

Of all the special abilities that Evil Lords possessed, the most dangerous one was the ability to summon another Evil Lord which was lower level than themselves. However, summoned monsters could not in turn summon more monsters. Therefore, the Evil Lord of Wrath that Demiurge had summoned could not summon another Evil Lord.

If there was an Evil Lord that had been created or made, then it should be able to summon additional creatures in their rank to fight alongside the summoner.

Demiurge walked out behind the demon generals and quickly noticed Momonga and Karna.

"Uh, my lord it you!" Demiurge said in shock, he alone with his demons general kneeled before their masters.

"My lord why are you traveling without an armed escort...and wear such armor?" Demiurge question.

'Crap how'd he know…!?' Momonga **[MESSAGED]** Karna.

'Calm down, only someone wearing the guild ring can freely teleport around Nazarick, so of course he knew' Karna **[MESSAGED] **back.

Well whatever the reason was, the cat was out of the bag now.

Demiurge could be said to be the wisest being in The Great Tomb of Nazarick, so being seen through was inevitable.

"Ah… it's complicated. Demiurge, you should know why I am wearing this."

Demiurge's elegant face twisted in consternation. He took several breaths before answering:

"My deepest apologies for being unable to comprehend divine your fathomless intentions, lord Momonga"

"Call me Dark Warrior."

"Pardon me, Dark Warrior-sama…?"

Demiurge seemed to have something to say, but Momonga tried his best to ignore it. Although it was a pretty embarrassing name, it made sense when one considered the names of other monsters in the game.

The reason behind having Demiurge address him by a different name was quite simple. Although only Demiurge and his vassals were here at the moment, this place was an exit, and many underlings would be passing through here. Momonga simply did not want them to call him "lord Momonga, lord Momonga," wherever he went.

'How much did Demiurge understand without knowing?' Momonga's thoughts. Just then, a look of enlightenment filled Demiurge's face.

"I see… so that's what's going."

'Eh? What's going on?'

Momonga stopped himself from speaking the words in his heart.

As a mortal man, Momonga had no idea what conclusion that Demiurge, intelligent and cunning beyond measure, had come to after his ruminations. All he could do was hope that Demiurge realised his true intentions as his head was covered in nonexistent cold sweat under his helmet.

"I believe I have some grasp on your profound schemes, Mo… no, Dark Warrior-sama. Truly, they are considerations that only the ruler of this domain would have taken into account. However, I cannot allow your noble self to proceed unaccompanied. I am aware that it may inconvenience you, but I hope that in your boundless mercy, you will permit one of us to escort you."

'Karna, help here'

'Uh, just let him'

"...It can't be helped. Very well, I will allow one person to travel with me."

Demiurge smiled elegantly.

"My deepest thanks for humoring my selfish request, Dark Warrior-sama."

"...Just call me Dark Warrior, you can dispense with the honorifics."

"How could I!? To do so would be unforgivable. Of course, I can obey such an order while acting as a spy or performing special missions, but within the Great Tomb of Nazarick, how could anyone not show the respect due to yourself, Momonga-sama… no, Dark Warrior-sama!"

Demiurge's passionate monologue moved Momonga a little, and he could not help but nod in approval. He mused that being called Dark Warrior would lead people to mock him for having such a lame name, and he lamented picking that alias so casually.

"Forgive me for wasting your valuable time, Mo-Dark Warrior-sama" Demiurge then turned to his servant "Then, you lot will wait here for orders, and explain to the others that I am on the move."

"Understood, lord Demiurge."

"Well, it seems your subordinates approve as well. Then, Demiurge, let us be off." Karna said.

Momonga and Karna walked past the bowing Demiurge, who raised his head and followed his master.

A while later

"Why was Lord Mo… cough, why was Dark Warrior-sama dressed like that?" Greed asked.

"I don't know, but there should be some reason for it." Jealousy replied.

The remaining Evil Lords muttered to each other in confusion.

After all, they had not seen through Momonga's disguise because he teleported here.

Momonga and Karna had no idea of knowing this, but the denizens of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, or rather, all of Ainz Ooal Gown's servants radiated a certain aura that the servants could sense in order to determine whether a stranger was friend or foe. Within the guild, the aura of the Forty One Supreme Beings that ruled Nazarick — now reduced to Momonga and Karna — was enough to tell them that the ones before them was their absolute ruler. They could sense their mighty presence from a distance and they could not have mistaken Momonga for anyone else, even through his full plate armor. They would have seen through their supreme one disguise immediately, regardless of how he arrived.

It was easy to differentiate his aura from the others in Nazarick.

The doors to the first floor swung wide, and someone climbed the stairs.

Judging by the aura that came from the stairs, the newcomer was a Guardian.

The Evil Lords saw the beautiful face of the Guardian Overseer, Albedo, rising from the steps. They went to one knee as they realised that they were in the presence of someone who was the equal of their master, Demiurge.

To Albedo, the vassals kneeling before her was merely natural, and she paid them no heed as she looked around.

Only after Albedo failed to find the person she was looking for did she turn back to the Evil Lords. She spoke without addressing anyone in particular:

"...I don't see Demiurge around. Where is he?"

"He…um... a Dark Warrior-sama passed through just now, so lord Demiurge decided to accompany him outside."

"Dark Warrior...sama?" Albedo tilted her head, indicating that she was confused "I don't recall a name like that among the servants… Which servant did Demiurge accompany? A Floor Guardian following a servant? How strange…"

The Evil Lords did not know how to respond, and looked at each other.

Albedo smiled gently to the Evil Lords.

"Could it be that a servants like you dare to deceive me?"

Her tender, final warning made the Evil Lords shiver, and they realized that they could not keep hiding things from her.

"When Dark Warrior-sama came here, Demiurge-sama concluded that he was a person worthy of our respect."

"I-in sort my lady, lord Momonga and lord Karna had just came here, they requested we call them Dark Warrior-sama!"

Albedo's voice seemed to crack a little, and so the Evil Lords calmly replied:

"...His name was Dark Warrior-sama."

"...And his guards? Did Demiurge receive some notification from Momonga-sama? But I already arranged to meet him, so does this mean Demiurge did not know Momonga-sama was coming? Ah, forget it, I need to change and bathe!"

Albedo touched her clothing.

Her clothes were dirty from her work. Her hair was tangled at the ends, as were her wings.

However, such petty imperfections could not begin to diminish the appeal of a world-class beauty like Albedo. It was insignificant, like the loss of a point or two out of a hundred million. However to Albedo, even the slightest blemish on her appearance was a mark of failure. She could not show this filthy self of hers to the man she loved so dearly.

"The nearest bath… the one at Shalltear's place? ...But then she might get suspicious… although I'll just have to bear with it. You lot, go to my room and get my clothes! Quickly!"

Just then, one of the Evil Lords called out to Albedo, who was pacing around. She was the Demon General of Jealousy.

"...Lady Albedo, though this might be rude of me, but would your present attire not be better?"

"...What do you mean?" Albedo angrily retorted as she stopped in her tracks. She thought the other woman wanted Momonga to see her in this unkempt state.

"...No, I simply meant that a beautiful woman like yourself would be best served by showing the signs of your hard work. In the end, you will still benefit, will you not, Lady Albedo?"

The other Evil Lords added their suggestions, "By the time you could bathe and prepare yourself to meet lord Momonga and lord Karna, much time would have been wasted. It would be a shame to miss a good opportunity because of that."

"I see—" Albedo mused.

They had a point.

"That makes sense… it seems I panicked because I have not seen Momonga-sama for such a long time. I can only meet Momonga-sama after eighteen hours, don't you think eighteen hours is too long?"

"Yes, it is."

"If only I could finish laying out the administrative framework and return to Momonga-sama's side… then I'd better not waste time griping and find Momonga-sama. Where is Momonga-sama now?"

"He just stepped out with lord Karna and lord Demiurge."

"I see."

Although Albedo's reply seemed curt, there was a distant smile on her face as she imagined being with Momonga, and she flapped her wings in an adorable way. She walked past the Evil Lords with hurried steps.

The footsteps suddenly halted, and Albedo asked the Evil Lords again:

"Just to be sure, do you really think Momonga-sama will approve of seeing me dirtied like this?"

But suddenly she felt a chill ran up her spine.

'This feeling… a supreme being?! Has a supreme being returned, can feel my beloved and lord Karna but this aura, it as strong as lord Karna himself!?'

'It has to be another supreme being!' Before the Evil Lord could replied, Albedo quickly ran out.

"How strange" Jealousy turned to look at Albedo quickly retreating form.

Momonga, Karna And Demiurge had just stepped foot outside the great tomb.

The moment Momonga and Karna set foot out of the tomb, they were captivated by the new world unbelievable beauty. The night sky glider like a treasure box full of diamonds and jewels, it was filled with thousands and millions of bright stars and the moon cast a brilliantly light that you can see everything with just that alone.

'Wow' Momonga simply said through **[MESSAGE] **to Karna.

'Amazing, I'd never seen a night as clear as this before, the article sky Blue Planet made on the 6th floor was incredible, but it could never hold a candle to this' Momonga said back.

'No kidding, our old world was filled with pollution, you can't even see the stars or even the moon from the thick cloud' Karna said.

'And you also have to wear protective suits wherever you go outside' Momonga sigh.

Momonga and Karna reach into thin air and pull out a necklace with a silver wing attached to it. They put it on and said "fly" Momonga And Karna began to fly up toward the sky.

Demiurge tenses up his body and two scaly wings grew out of his back. His face also began to change, his fairly human face except for the ears and eyes turned in what looks like a frog's head. He spread out his wings and quickly catches up with his master who'd had stopped a few hundred meters of the ground.

When Karna And Momonga had stopped flying, they both look down to see the tomb no longer there. This was because the great underground tomb of Nazarick was being concealed by illusion magic. Karna was looking left and right for any sign of Jeanne 'I know I heard that notification, so where are you Jeanne?' Karna though.

Momonga using one of his racial skills **[ARCANE EYES] **'What's that?' Momonga spoke through **[MESSAGE]**.

'What?' Karna turned and looked at Momonga.

'That light' Momonga said.

'What light, I don't see it' Karna said as he looked back And focus.

'Over there' Momonga pointed.

"What is it my lord?" Demiurge who was just a couple of feet behind Momonga questioned.

"**[SHARINGAN]"** Karna activated one of his class skills and his eyes began to glow dark red as multiple other eyes open on his body.

The Sharingan grants the wielder two broad abilities: the "Eye of Insight" and the "Eye of Hypnotism". Although the abilities are not literally restricted to certain eyes, the Sharingan should only be used to its fullest when both eyes are together. Even within these two categories, there may exist several distinct though similar abilities:

_**"Eye of Insight"**_

The user can see any player MP and HP bar if it is not protected first. The user is granted incredible clarity of perception, enabling them to read lips or mimic something like pencil movements. The Sharingan can even see on a cellular level. In combat, this allows them to see fast-moving objects and, once fully developed, offers some amount of predictive capabilities: they can anticipate an opponent's next move based on the slightest muscle tension in their body and act accordingly to dodge or intercept. Although a Sharingan user can see these things, they also need the physical ability to actually act on the visual information. If the user has enough prowess with the sharingan and if there eyes are contacted, the user can even enter the target's mind to look through their memories.

The user is able to copy almost any skill they see, memorising skills, and performing them with near perfect accuracy. However this can only be used a few times per day, the Sharingan users need the prerequisite abilities before they can mimic a skill they have seen, and for that reason they cannot, for example, reproducing a player skill that can only be accessed through a rare class or race, abilities that are higher level than they are.

The user can perform what is generically called Genjutsu: Sharingan. While there are various manifestations and purposes of the ability, the better known one is to, through eye contact, suggest thoughts and actions to a target, coercing them to divulge information or act in a particular way, potentially without the target's awareness. In extreme cases, the Sharingan user can take complete control of the target's body, forcing them to do exactly as the controller wishes; this control is visually indicated by the Sharingan's design appearing in the target's eyes. The Sharingan are infamous for it ability to tame the tailed beasts, which are very high level monster with level in the upper 90s. Multiple targets can be taken control of in this way, though the more divided the user's attention is, the easier it is for targets to escape this control

While not an ability per se, the Sharingan user can appear as if they are able to "see the future". First, the user must perfectly mimic every move their opponent makes and possibly their thoughts and words through careful observation. Then, they suggest an action to the opponent through illusion, they can make the opponent use their ability slower with them noticing. With these things done, the user can complete the action even before the opponent does.

In addition to these abilities there are two other skill that a Sharingan user can perform: Izanagi allows the user to warp reality for a short time, changing reality into illusion and illusion into reality, thus escaping death and rewriting destiny; Izanami traps the victim in an infinite loop disregarding the target's five senses, specifically designed as a reprimand for those who would abuse Izanagi. Use of either ability causes the Sharingan with which it is performed to be blinded afterwards, and for that reason Izanami and Izanagi are classified as forbidden skill. The user can only restore there sight by swapping out the already dead sharingan.

Karna already amazing vision, thanks to his race and class, increase and zoomed in on where Momonga had just pointed.

There he saw a woman, a beautiful woman, who's hair was the brightest of gold, braided behind her back and covered with a decorated silver headpiece. Her beautiful and alluring eyes can described as amethyst-colored eyes and they were completely pure and her eyes can steal any man's heart, and her unparalleled figures can draw out a man hidden desires. She possessed a voluptuous build and wondrous beauty that makes others feel that it is sacred. She worse a deep purple dress that have black lines that outline the edges of her dress. The lower half split down slightly from the center exposing her thigh that was mostly covered by dark purple leg stock that then led to a black boot that was covered by a sliver decorated metal. She also wears a silver armor that cover her abdomen and have a matching silver gauntlet, by her waist was a sheath that held a beautiful and decorated sword.

**Jeanne D'Arc: ****karma** **500 extremely good**

**Health Point: 100+ **

**Magic Point: 85 **

**Magic Attack: ****80 **

**Magic Defense: 80 **

**Physical Attack: ****95 **

**Physical Defense: 90 **

**AGILITY: 90 **

**RESISTANCE: ****100 **

**SPECIAL ****ABILITY****: 100**

**Total points: 820+**

In her stretched out gauntlets hand was a bright light which seem to be guiding her somewhere. This was a 9th tier spell known as **[Blessing of Titania]**. This spell summoned forth a tiny fairy queen beside the user and it would take them along the least dangerous path to the user's destination.

Jeanne had a worried and scared face like she had just woken from a nightMare.

"...Jeanne…?" Karna hesitantly said in a low and shocked tone.

"There's no mistaking it, that her" Momonga said also ver surprise.

Demiurge who'd had just noticed the woman below them was in shock.

The moment Demiurge saw her he was entranced by her beauty. The pale moonlight shone upon her form, and her amethyst colored eyes that shone like finely cut gemstones under the moonlight. The silver armor that adorned her purple dress glittered. how beautiful was his Goddess.

'th-that lady Jeanne D'arc, one of the supreme beings had returned!'

He felt foolish and ashamed to have distrust in the supreme being. If his lady had return then what if his creator did as well.

Jeanne walked and walked for what seemed like hours to her 'what is going on, this isn't Nazarick and I have the sense of touch and smell and I can't log out!' Jeanne thought was in a panic state right now, she'd only logged in a few seconds before the server shutdown and thought she would be forced-log-out but in a blink of an eye, she was standing in the middle of the woods with all of her five senses and the fact that she can't contact the GM or log out.

"JEANNE!" Karna shouted, trying to get her attention.

Jeanne who'd had heard her avatar name being called looked up to see the avatar of her was-supposed-soon-to-be-husband and one of her friends from Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga.

"Karna...?" Jeanne's eyes began to be filled with tears as she quickly cast a simple fly magic, which she had tested to see if it the real world or YGGDRASIL, to get up to where Karna and Momonga was.

She'd launch herself into the air at break neck spread and crash into Karna warm embrace. She'd had broken into tears the moment she was in Karna arms "Oh thank god you're here too, I was so scared by the fact that I can't log out and…" Jeanne barely manage to whispers before trailing off.

Karna wrapped his arm around her in order to comforts her, though he wasn't a lawful good man he was still kind to his friend.

"M-my lady are you alright?!" Demiurge said in panic and worried fashion after he got over the shock of seeing another supreme beings.

"Lady Jeanne, are you injured!?" Demiurge hurriedly fly over, his tail trembling in panic and fear.

"Please my lady tell me what is wrong, are you hurt? Did anyone try to hurt you? Please tell us so we can punish them and rectify their mistakes."

Jeanne dried her tears and looked at Demiurge with shocked.

"W-what…?" Jeanne's voice was barely a whisper 'w-what is this...that Ulbert crea...b-but how is he talking!?'

Karna, sensing what was about to happen quickly used **[MESSAGE] **and quietly tell her 'Jeanne listen to me and play along ok, just trust me, I'll explain everything later, but for right now just play along'

'W-w-wait how did you…'

'It the **[MESSAGE] **just follow my instruction Jeanne!'

"Um uh...My apologies Demiurge, I didn't mean to worry you, I was just very happy to see Karna and Momonga again that all" Jeanne tried to stay calm and collected but inside she was falling apart, if it wasn't for Karna squeezing her hand tightly and telling her what to say, she would have broken down.

She was by no means a weak woman, but being suddenly transported into what looked like another world without any sign or warning and have all of the powers and equipment from a fantasy game you where playing, tended to be quite overwhelming for a 24 year old girl.

Jeanne can be described as a taciturn and cool girl, but her natural self is a plain and quiet twenty-four-year-old girl. She puts order first, and will wield a sword for the sake of the rules, but fundamentally believes "all people are important and must be treated the same.'' Jeanne could not interact normally with Karna when they are alone unless she maintained a certain distance. She only has one wish, it is to be with Karna. She also doesn't mind if a person wishes for a personal desire. As long as it doesn't affect anyone in a bad way, she would properly respect the wish. During their time together Jeanne develops romantic feelings for Karna, though she refuses to acknowledge them because she has promised to love everyone equally. Jeanne does come around to accepting her feelings and Jeanne confesses her love to him.

Demiurge continue to ask if she was okay as he noticed her trembling voice, it was very obvious that his Goddess was not fully alright. He had asked and she'd blushed beautifully as he continues to ask for her well being.

It was a sight he would never forget.

"Once again, I apologize if I worried you" she said. She could feel her cheek getting hot, it was obvious she was not a very social person. So being ask and carried for by someone was embarrassing for her as she does not know how to talk and articulate her word.

In short she was not good with men, demon or not.

Karna was the only one she was comparable with.

"There is no need to apologize, im just glad that you are safe my lady" Demiurge gave Jeanne a deep and respectful bow slightly satisfied that his goddess was okay.

Inside he sighed a sigh of relief as he got his confirmation that his Lady was safe.

"A-ahem, so what where you two doing?" Jeanne asked as he blush lesson. she was trying desperately to calm down.

"Well as you know we'd have been transported to a new world, so me and Karna were out here to see this new world with our own eyes" Momonga said.

Momonga contacted Jeanne via the **[MESSAGE] **spell.

'Ok Jeanne I know you have a lot of questions but I need you to play alone, just act like you know everything and play it cool and act like a boss would inform of their employees and by employees I mean the N.P.C!' Momonga pleased.

'Um what...but ...uh ok I'll try' Jeanne said with very little confidence.

"O-oh I see" Jeanne was trying to maintaining a calm expression now.

"My lady, may I ask you where have you been all this time?" Demiurge raises his head and looked at Jeanne.

"W-well when we were about to be teleported into this new world, I-I was out doing a quest, but when I saw Nazarick was disappearing I um quickly used my ring to teleport back in, but I suddenly awoke in the woods and you know the rest" Jeanne mind was running a thousand mile a minute in order to think of what to say and to be as calm as one could be under these circumstances.

"I see, thank you my lady, I am glad you back" Demiurge once again bowed in deep respect.

Karna seeing Jeanne uncomfortable and uneasy about the situation try to change the subject.

"The Sky gilder like jewels in a treasure box doesn't it?" Karna said 'maybe that was a bit to sudden, just to say'

Momonga and Jeanne silently thanked him for ending the awkward silently.

"I believe that this world exists for you to adorns yourself with it infinite riches and we guardians exist to help you do so" Demiurge said.

"Hm, you could be right about that, perhaps we were sent to this land to obtain those treasures for us and along with any other treasure shine beneath them, but to hoard such things would be the height of selfishness, instead we can use those treasure to adore the great tomb of Nazarick and it residents and my friends of Ainz Ooal Gown" Karna said.

"If you wish it we would use all the powers of Nazarick to attain it for you my lord" Demiurge bow.

"Haha, we don't even know what exists in this new world, it is a bit early for a quest, then again...the most enjoyable thing now might be taking over the world..." little did Karna knew but those words would forever change the course of history.

'Who am I kidding, there is no way we can pull that off, I do wonder though am I and Momonga and now Jeanne the only one to get sent into this new world, if there is another player here then maybe we should spread name of Ainz Ooal Gown throughout this world, we were the strongest Heteromorph guild in YGGDRASIL' Karna thought.

While they were talking, Momonga was filling Jeanne in on what was going on through the **[MESSAGE]** spell.

The small silent was broken when they all heard a rumbling down below. When they looked down they saw, waves of dirt forming in a big wall around a house, the house was the dummy Nazarick that was still being built 1 kilometer away from the real tomb.

"That **[EARTH SURGE]**, he's using a skill to increase his magic range and his class skill to amplify the effect, impressive" Karna commented.

"Agreed" Jeanne And Momonga added.

"My lord, my I ask what are you planning to do?" Demiurge said with curiosity.

"We want to thank Mare for his hard work" Momonga said.

"So Demiurge, what do you think I should give him as a reward?" Karna said.

"I'm sure he'll be happy just to have you speak to him my lord" Demiurge said with certainty.

As the tsunami of dirt formed a wall around Nazarick, Mare than began to repeat this process all over again.

Momonga, demiurge, Karna and now Jeanne landed on the huge wall surrounded the great underground tomb of Nazarick. The moment they landed Mare turned and looked at them and immediately noticed Momonga.

"Oh lord Momonga and lord Karna too!?" Mare said and ran to where the supreme beings were "um why are you here My lord, oh no did I mess up already?!"

how do they know it me?!' Momonga though.

"Not at all Mare, what you are doing is of the utmost importance, it will protect Nazarick from intruders" Karna said with a gentle voice.

"We'd wanted you to know how pleased we are with your work" Jeanne spoke softly.

Mare went silent. He had just noticed Jeanne and was completely shocked. Tears form in his eyes as he ran to Jeanne and hugged her tightly, much to the shock of Jeanne.

"Lady Jeanne you've returned to us!" Mare cried.

It look Jeanne a little bit to get over the sudden hug "um well I'm back now so don't worry Mare" Jeanne smile as she gently pat Mare's head. Demiurge had transform back to his original form and was also smiling the biggest smile he had ever worn.

'She truly deserves the title of beautiful holy saint!'

Thought he maybe one of the more evil denizens of Nazarick, he still care very much for anyone in the tomb, for too disrespect a creation of a supreme beings, no matter how weak they are, it is the same as disrespect the supreme beings themselves.

'S-so cute, bless you Bukubukuchagama -chan!' Jeanne inwardly squeal.

They soon separated from the hug and Momonga walk up to Mare "as thanks for all your hard work Mare, we'd would like you to have this" Momonga outstretched his hand, in Momonga palm was the guild ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"THAT THE RING OF AINZ OOAL GOWN, but only supreme beings are allowed to wear it, I can't possibly expect!" Mare said.

"There is no need to panic Mare, moving between Nazarick floors can be very difficult because all teleporting magic are blocked, so this will allow you to complete your work faster, now take this ring Mare and serve Nazarick well" Momonga said gentle but commanding voice.

Mare was hesitant but took the ring and slowly put it over his gloved finger "thank you so much Lord Momonga I'll be sure to work extra EXTRA hard for you and the honor of Nazarick and the supreme beings, I swear it I'll be sure to be deserving of such a gift!" Mare said happily.

"Then we are depending on you Mare" Jeanne patted Mare head.

"But...hm by the way my lord I was wondering why are dress like that?" Mare questioned.

"Um...well…"Momonga had no answer and was quickly trying to think of one and fast.

"It for our sake Mare" a gentle and sweet voice like a mother spoke "it like a disguise, if we knew he was here watching us we'd would stop working to praised him, then nothing would be done"

Black feathers flow gentle down from the star lit night sky and Albedo appears, her raven black hair flow gracefully in the wind and she was dressed in her white dress and had a gentle smile on her. The moonlight only helped in adding to her beauty, Albedo gentle land and walked up to Momonga.

"Albedo, why are you here?" Demiurge said.

"When I sense another present that was on par with Lord Karna, I had a feeling that another supreme beings had returned, I'd had to see who it was" Albedo said. She'd turned to Jeanne and kneeled "welcome back my Lady Jeanne D'Arc" Albedo said.

"Uh i-it is good to be back in Nazarick, thank you Albedo" Jeanne said shyly. She was not used to anyone bowing or kneeling in front of her like this, so this was quite embarrassing for Jeanne.

Albedo rose from her kneeling, at this point did Albedo saw Mare ring. For a second everyone could feel a chill running down their spine, but as quick as it came, it was gone.

"Is something wrong my lord?" Albedo Innocent smile never leaves her face as she turns to Momonga who was terrified at what had just happened.

'Um did I miss something?' Jeanne asked.

'I'll tell you later when we are alone' Karna said.

Um n-no, n-nothing at all…" Momonga said and turned to Mare "right then I'll let you return to your work Mare"

"Oh sure, then I'll get right to it my lord please excuse me" Mare turned and walked off.

"Albedo, I should give you one as well" Momonga said.

"Give me one, of the lords?" Albedo said gentle smile.

Momonga quickly extend his hand and the guild ring appears "this will make your work as guardians overseer must easier, use it wisely" Momonga said. Albedo slowly extended her hand and gentle grab the ring as if it were marked out of glass and slip it on her ring finger.

"Thank you very much my lord" Albedo was entire body was shaking and her mouth was quivering.

'I suggest we get out of here' Karna **[MESSAGED]**.

'Agreed' Momonga said.

'Why?' Jeanne asked Innocently with much confusion.

'I tell you everything when we are alone' Karna said.

"Um uh work diligently, Demiurge I will prepare one for you later" Momonga said.

"I understand lord, I only hope that one day I can prove myself worthy of such a treasure" Demiurge said with a bow.

"Then we have done what we plan to do, I will return back to Nazarick" Karna said as he Momonga and Jeanne teleported always with the ring.

"OHHHH YESSSS!" Albedo screamed into the night sky.

* * *

Alone a dirt trail, a group of knights wearing shining armor, road down the dirt trail on horseback, while a group of masked robed men stand atop a hill overlooking the march with only the full moonlight being there light source.

"We will attack the next village tomorrow morning and guide the beast into it cages" a man dressed in a black rob with a scar that ran diagonally arose his left eye said with a smirk.

**please review**


	3. Chapter 3 - Battle of Carne Village

**Hey before you read please keep in main— any name that is from the main character (Momonga/Jeanne/Karna) will be talk about in their original name or when they talk to each other in the [MESSAGE] spell but when in a third person prospective or not main character it will be their fake name.**

* * *

**Battle of Carne Villages**

The next day at early sun rises a group of men on horseback ride along the dirt trail as the sun began to rise up beyond the horizon.

One soldier ride up to the person who was in front of the group "the village is burning captain Gazef" he said as the captain gritted his teeth in anger.

They continue to race down the trail until they reach The burnt out village. Smoke filled the air as the once peaceful village was gone and in it place left a wasteland littered with corpses. Some were burned and other where clearly stabbed.

The soldiers began to look for any survivors, they lifted up broken down houses and check every nook and cranny.

"Vic chief, these people need help, make sure they get back to E-Rantel safety" Gazef said.

Gazef Stronoff was a muscular man of around thirty years old and he had southern blood in his veins. He appeared to have a sunbathed dark face with noticeable wrinkles, short, trimmed, black hair and black eyes that are as sharp as a sword. He also wears a silver armor with a red and yellow X strap, he wore light brown pants with armor plating which serve to protect his knees and he had dark brown almost red boots.

"General?" The Vic chief call out.

"what is it?" Gazef questioned.

"Something is wrong here, the king ordered us to track down and terminate the group of bandits that was piliging these village right?" The Vic chief asked.

"That correct" Gazef reply with a deep voice.

Ok, then why did they only send us out here with 50 soldiers, expressly if they think that the Baharuth empire was behind this" The Vic chief questioned.

"It a top secret operation" Gazef answer. He looked away, he'd already knew that was going on here and what his Vic chief wants to say.

"Come on sir you know who's behind this, the noblemen wants you to fail, if they can remove the king most trusted general then they would have a clear path to the throne, it so transparent" The Vic chief said grimly and angrily.

"That enough Vic chief" Gazef ordered.

"But sir, you know that I'm telling you the truth, we'd walking straight into a trap, I think our forces should head back to E-Rantel as fast as possible, if we split up now it will only weaken us!" The Vic chief said.

"A few villages may be lost, but that a small price to pay in order to keep the kingdom most powerful warrior alive" another soldier said.

"I was born a commoner, I know what it is like to live in fear of monster and bandits at every turn" Gazef said.

"Same here" The Vic chief said solemnly as he already knows where his commander was going with this.

"Then you should know what it is like to have hope, praying for someone to come and protect you" Gazef said.

Of course, I wish every single day that would happen, but in the end not a single person came"

"Then let us be that person who do come, well let these people know that there is hope and that prayers are answered, that hero excited" Gazef turn to look his Vic chief in the eyes.

**—Back in the great tomb of Nazarick in Momonga work office—**

Jeanne had much to catch up on, once she had returned, Karna and Ainz had spend an entire day and night to fully explain and even introduce her to the NPC who was beyond happy to see another supreme being. The entire tomb was engulfed in chaos as NPC ran all over and made arrangement for a welcome back party for Jeanne.

However Jeanne was overwhelmed by all of this. It took a several hour talk between Karna and Jeanne to make the overwhelmed girl feel better. Karna had stayed by Jeanne side and comforted her all the while she was trying to get used to her new life.

—Jeanne Room—

within the beautiful and highly decorated pure white room of the holy maiden sat two people, Karna had his arm wrapped around Jeanne as she rested her head on his chest. It had been a while, several hours in fact since their talk, Jeanne beautiful amethyst eyes were droopy and had a sad expression, she'd had come to term with all of this but it was still hard for her. Jeanne roses from her comfortable position and looked at Karna.

"s-so what now, w-hat about our family, our friends, the NPC are alive and this, this all real now, what do we do?"

"...I don't know... I don't have a family but I'd bet yours will be just fine... we need to asses the situation first and whatever happen, happens. But, as long as we stick together, no matter what happen I'll will always protect you, so don't worry okay" Karna smile and his sad tone change to that of a soft but yet serious one, he turned to Jeanne and place both of his hand on either side of Jeanne shoulder and looked her straight in the eye and said "no matter what happen I will always love you"

Jeanne smiled and pulled Karna in for a sudden kissed, it took him a second to comprehend what just transpired but he quickly kissed her back with equal passion. As the two separated from their short —to them it was a lot longer— but sweet kiss, Jeanne hugged him as tight as she could, a few stray tear fell on the king size bed sheet as the two remain still until there was a knock on the other door. It was probably Momonga or one of the NPC who'd had came to get them for Jeanne welcome back party. The two separated and looked into each other eyes and smiled. Karna got off the white King size bed and held out his hand for Jeanne to take, her smile widen and she gladly took his hand and two walk hand in hand with their fingers intertwine with one other to the door.

It has now been four days since the arrival of Nazarick in this strange new world, After the party thrown by the NPC, the three supreme being went all around each of the ten floors of Nazarick and did some experimenting and exploring on all of the old and even tested out some of the new mechanism of Nazarick.

Now within the guild master office room, Momonga, Karna and Jeanne sat on a luxurious couch with a coffee table in front of them. On the coffee table lies an ethereal mirror which was showcasing the surrounding area of the tomb.

"S-so can we even go back" Jeanne asked hesitantly.

"We don't know, there are still too many variables in this" Momonga said.

"We don't even know how we even got here or how the N.P.C can talk and move like a real "person" or what's in this world" Karna further explain.

"From what we already know and from what we have gathered, the N.P.C personality, action and thought are all based on either their background lore or their race, build and karma" Momonga explain.

"That the most likely possibility, but what if, it all of those things and maybe more" Karna said "for instance, some of our friends aren't very creative when it came to background lore, like the homunculus maids or some of the gag N.P.C made for fun, they especially don't have any detail in there background lore and yet they still developed unique characteristics as we saw from our tore".

"maybe your right, but what what else has changed since we arrive in this world?" Momonga questioned.

"Speaking of "the new world" as I will refer to this land from now on, we need to check our sounding, we already know that from a perfect circle spanning 1 kilometers all around, there is just grassland, and no sign of life but let increase that radius".

"Good idea" Jeanne commented "and we can use the mirror of remote viewing".

A while later, Momonga was trying to operate **the mirror of remote viewing**.

"I just need to figure out how to work things mirror of remote viewing, then we can really secure the surrounding of Nazarick" Momonga moved his hand back and forth and side to side like he was conducting a dark ritual. The mirror did not move from the area in which it had been displaying.

"Try to move the screen like you would a phone" Karna suggested.

"Okay" Momonga replied as he swip his fleshless hand over the mirror, the screen which just showcased a piece of the forests moved to a dirt trail.

"It worked" Jeanne cheers.

There was a knock at the double door and it slowly opened a few seconds later to reveal sebas who walked in and clapped his hand as he saw his master.

"Well done my lord, I'd know you could do it" Sebas said, although his face did not change from it usual serious look, it did soften.

"Thank you sebas, for you support" Momonga said.

"Of course, it is my duty as the guild master personally butler, the sole reason I was created by lord Touch-me was to carry out your orders, no matter how tedious it might seem" sebas replied with absolute loyalty in his voice.

"Now then let's see what's happening in this new world of ours" Karna began to take Momonga place of moving the mirror, a second later it landed on a town

"Is it a town festival?" Jeanne asked.

Karna began to zoom in on the town as sebas walked over to his lady side to see what was going on.

"No, definitely not my lady" Sebas said.

Fully armored knights were swinging their longswords at the villagers, who were dressed in rough clothes. The knights on horseback was chasing the villagers around and cutting them down in cold blood, women and children were being dragged out of there house and killed

It was a massacre.

A villager fell with every swing of a knight's sword. The villagers could not resist them, and could only run away. The knights pursued and killed the fleeing villagers. There were horses eating the grain in the field. Those horses must have belonged to the knights.

"Those men don't appear to be bandits" Momonga said.

Momonga scoffed, intending to change the image. This village had no value to him. If he could extract more information from it, perhaps he might have a reason to save them. But as things stood, there was no reason to save this village.

He should abandon them.

Momonga was taken aback by how he could make such a heartless decision. A cruel slaughter was occurring before his eyes, but the only thing he could think of was the good of Nazarick. There was nothing like pity, anger, or worry, basic human emotions anyone should have.

It felt like he was watching a TV show about animals and insects, where the strong eat the weak.

Could it be that as one of the undead, he no longer considered himself part of humanity?

No, how could that be?

Momonga struggled to find an excuse to justify his thinking.

He was not an agent of justice.

He was level one hundred, but like he had told Mare, this world's commoners might well be level one hundred as well. Therefore, he could not tread blindly into this unknown world. Although it looked like the knights were conducting a one-sided slaughter of the villagers, there might be other reasons at work here which he did not know about. Reasons like "illness, judgement, setting an example," and others like them kept appearing in his mind. And if he stepped in and defeated the knights, he might earn the ire of the country they belonged to.

Momonga stretched out his bony hand and rubbed his skull as he thought. Could it be that after becoming an undead being who was immune to mind-affecting effects, he had become inured to scenes like this? Definitely not.

He waved his hand again, showing a scene from another part of the village.

It seemed like two knights were trying to pull a violently struggling villager off another knight. The man was pulled away, his arms were held, and he was rendered motionless where he stood. Before Momonga's eyes, the man was stabbed with a sword. The blade entered his body and exited from the other side of him. It should have been a fatal blow, but the longsword did not stop. One, two, three strikes — the knight seemed to be taking out his anger on the villager as he hacked at the man's body.

In the end, the knight kicked away the villagers, who collapsed to the ground while spurting his blood into the air.

—The villager looked straight at Momonga. No, this might have just been a coincidence.

It was definitely a coincidence.

There was no way for anyone to detect the mirror's surveillance apart from anti-divination spells.

Frothy blood leaked from the villager's mouth as he tried to open his mouth. His eyes were unfocused, and Momonga could not tell where he was looking. Even so, with what may have been his dying breaths, he gasped his last words:

—Please save my daughter—

'What is wrong with me, how can I watch violent so calmly!?" Momonga though 'I would've passed out at the mere sight of this back in the real world!'

'This is wrong!' Jeanne gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand 'I'm not even flinching at the sight of this, instead I'm just sitting here feeling...pity?! ...could it be my racial class? Even though I have a high positive karma, Im still an angel which is a heteromorph, but I'm an Angel of sacrifice, is that whats affecting me right now?'

'I don't feel a thing even though I'm watching a massacre going on' Karna narrow his bright bluish green eyes 'I guess my mentality has changed, though I'm not a good example, looking at Jeanne and Momonga it probably the same for them too, Jeanne would've passed out or at the very least scream if this was the IRL her'

Sebas slightly tighten his closed fist "What are your orders my lords" Sebas said calmly but with stern force behind his word.

"Leave them be, I see no good reason to interfere in their affairs" Momonga said without a second thought. This causes Jeanne and Karna to look at Momonga with slight shock.

'So I was right, we not only change physically but mentally as well'

'Momonga how could-' Jeanne stop and logical think 'I'm compelled to help them and yet at the same time, I don't see benefit to do so, is this the same for everyone?'

"As you wish my lord" Sebas said with a hint of sadness.

Momonga turns to look at sebas as he sense something was troubling him, instead he saw his friend that had saved him long ago from being PKed and was the one who brought him in to Ainz Ooal Gown to begin with.

Karna chuckles "reminds you of Touch-me doesn't it" Karna said.

**FLASHBACK**

Within the forest of helheim one of the 9 worlds that were left of YGGDRASIL. A group of humans in different armor knocks a certain overlord over which caused him to land on a rock.

"What'd easy encounters!" One of the armor humans said.

"Just two more XP and I get to level up!"

"Then hurry up and kill him already!"

"Damn inhuman I'll fix his mugs"

One of the armor humans raised up his axe to land the finishing blow on the overlord which so happens to be Momonga until…

Four slashes cut through all four of the armor humans, and soon after they dropped dead and their equipment was dropped behind. Momonga look up to see who has saved him and see the famous World Champion, Touch Me wears a shining white armor with a matching helm.

He also has a huge sapphire embedded in the middle of his chest, radiating with pure and divine light. He is also adorned with a reddish cape attached around his left shoulder. Additionally, he is armed with both a sword and shield.

Touch Me was among the only nine players who can use the special class, "World Champion." Being a "World Champion" Touch Me who wielded both a sword and shield was evaluated to be one of the strongest players as well as greatest warriors in YGGDRASIL. He is the most powerful warrior of Ainz Ooal Gown. His armor was bonus equipment he received for taking this special class. The armor equipped by Touch Me is known as Compliance with Law and it has the power which surpassed that of Divine Class items, rivaling even Guild weapons too.

Within Ainz Ooal Gown, the only 3 top-class player who could not only deflect a boss' attacks without harm but even respond with a counterattack of their own is Touch Me, Karna and Jeanne. In other words, they were super-tier players who could serve as a tank even though they was an attackers. When in battle, Touch Me could instantly sense an opponent's intentions, thus evading their attacks from touching him. Touch Me had to relied on using his real-world reflexes to duel with top-class warriors

Touch Me is in a different league as a bewildering cheat. He has outstanding motor reflexes while playing as a warrior in the game. Related to this, he was among one of the top three players in YGGDRASIL. Touch Me and Karna and Jeanne are the only one powerful enough to deal with all the Floor Guardians which are all level 100 simultaneously and roughly win.

Upon reaching the maximum level of "World Champion," he was able to obtain a skill by the name of World Break in his arsenal. It is considered to be the most powerful skill possessed by Touch Me who wields the strongest warrior class, "World Champion."

World Break: This ultimate skill attacks the target by slashing the space and reaching the opponent from afar and dealing massive amounts of damage. It is also capable of tearing the very fabric of space and time. Comparably, this skill itself is like the superior version to the 10th tier spell, **[Reality Slash]**

"Why did you save me?" Momonga asked.

"BECAUSE SAVING SOMEONE IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!" Touch-me exclaimed as the word 'Justice has arrived' appeared behind him.

And from that day forward Momonga soon joined the guild Ainz Ooal Gown and made history.

**END FLASHBACKS**

"...hem, haahaa!" Momonga laugh which slightly shocked and confused sebas.

Jeanne begins to giggle cutely as she too remember Touch-me and all his justice antics.

"Well since we have arrived in a new world shouldn't we test out our powers, eventually we'd have to do it anyway to see where we stand in this world?" Karna said.

"Your right and bonus we'd be saving someone too" Jeanne said "this will also be in the memory of Touch-me and in the words of the man himself —saving someone who is in trouble is always the right thing to do— right?".

"Right" Momonga said as he, Karna and Jeanne stood up.

Sebas lets out a small smile as he saw his masters determination.

"Sebas, we're paying them a visit so raise the security of Nazarick to maximum while we're away and send out a reserved, I want soldiers trained in stealth or be able to use the invisibility spell, ready to move in at a moments notice" Momonga said.

"Tell Albedo to meet us there armed and ready for battle" Jeanne said. Albedo's levels were in the defense focused Dark Knight class. As a result, among the three level one hundred warriors of Nazarick — Sebas, Cocytus, and Albedo — Albedo possessed the greatest defensive ability.

In other words, she was the strongest shield in Nazarick.

"Oh and tell her not to bring her world class item or the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown alonge" Karna said.

"Yes my lords" Sebas bowed.

Momonga them summons a fake staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. He did this because although it is face it can cast a few spells without the lost of MP and also in YGGDRASIL when you form a guild it is required of you to build a guild weapon.

Jeanne entire body glowed as a dark purple cape appear with a silver cross display on it back. Her silver gauntlet hand glowed a brilliant gold as she summon a spear and at her waist was a sword.

Karna red fur coat burst in flame as his red ethereal energy cape appear and floating on his shoulder was a gold ring that resemble an eye. Spike began to grew out of his golden armor as his hand glowed a dark red, the light took shape and became a solid golden lance. At the lance end it look like a sun which fit Karna character.

"Don't you guys think that a bit overkill" Momonga ask.

"A little, but we need to be prepared just in case the inhabitant of this world is stronger than we think they are" Jeanne said.

"She right, being a little bit course doesn't hurt" Karna replied "so let go"

**[GATE] **Momonga said, then a thin circle of swirling black and purple energy appears and Karna, Jeanne And Momonga walk into it.

* * *

**—A few hours ago—**

Carne Village.

It was located on the border of the Kingdom at the Empire, near the southern tip of the Azellerisia Mountain Range, just outside a patch of woodland named the Great Forest of Tob.

For a frontier village of the Re-Estize Kingdom, its population was unexceptional — a hundred and twenty souls, distributed among twenty five families.

The village made its living from the resources of the forest and agriculture. Apart from doctors and herbalists who came to collect herbs, the only visitors to the village were the yearly tax collectors. Time seemed to stand still for the few residents of this village.

Village life was very busy even in the early hours of the morning. Villages did not possess the magical illumination of 「Continual Light」 which could be found in cities, so the villagers would rise with the sun and work hard all day until the sun went down.

The first thing Enri Emmot did after getting up extra early in the morning was to carry water from the nearby well. Hauling water was a woman's job, and once she finished filling the big water tank in the house, that chore was complete. By this time, her mother would have prepared breakfast for their family of four.

Breakfast was barley or wheat porridge, as well as cooked vegetables. Sometimes, they would have dried fruit as well.

After breakfast, she would tend the fields with her parents. Her ten year old sister would go into the forest to gather firewood or help with the field work. When the bell in the middle of the village — the village square — rang to signal noon, everyone would break for lunch.

Lunch would be black bread baked several days before, as well as soup with some shredded meat jerky sprinkled in.

Field work would resume after lunch, and when the sun set they would return home for dinner.

For dinner, they would have the same black bread that they had for lunch, as well as bean soup. If the village's hunters managed to bag any prey, they might be able to get some meat to go with their dinner. After dinner, the family would gather around the light of the hearth-fire to take care of household chores, such as mending worn or damaged clothes.

They would go to sleep around eight.

The girl Enri Emmot was born sixteen years ago and had become a part of the village since then. She had lived these days all her life. In her heart, she wondered, How much longer will these unchanging days continue?

Today was no different from any other. After waking up, Enri went to the well to carry water.

After filling her buckets at the well, she would need three trips to fill the house's water tank.

"Yosh~"

Enri rolled up her sleeves, exposing her untanned skin, which was pale and stood out. Long years of farm life ensured that although her arms looked slender and frail, they were actually very strong, with just a hint of muscle on them.

The filled buckets were very heavy, but Enri hoisted them up like she always did.

If the buckets were bigger, I could make fewer trips, wouldn't that make things easier? Then again, if the buckets were bigger, I probably wouldn't be able to lift them…

As Enri thought about that issue on her way back home, she heard a sound and turned to look at it. There was tension in the air over there, and the seeds of fear began sprouting in her heart.

Her ears seemed to pick up something like wood being broken, and after that—

"A scream—?"

It sounded like a strangled bird, but there was no way it could be a bird's call.

A chill ran down Enri's spine. Unbelievable. There must be some kind of mistake. It couldn't be a human's voice. She tried to erase her unease with these thoughts, and then they vanished.

She had to run to the source of the scream, because it was coming from the direction of her home.

Enri cast aside the water buckets. She could not run while carrying that heavy burden.

Although she nearly tripped over her long skirt, she managed to keep her balance by some stroke of luck.

The sound rang through the air once more.

Enri's heart lurched in her chest.

There was no mistake about it — it was a human scream.

She ran, and ran, and ran.

Enri could not recall going faster than this in her life. She was running so fast that her legs were about to tangle each other up.

The neighs of horses. The screams of people, and shouts.

These sounds were becoming clearer and clearer.

In the distance, Enri could see an unfamiliar man in armor swinging his sword at a villager.

The villager collapsed to the ground with a howl of pain, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and a swift thrust from the sword dealt him a fatal blow.

"Morga-san…"

There were no strangers in a small village like this. Everyone was as close as kin. As such, Enri knew exactly who had been killed before her eyes.

Mr. Morga was a loud but pleasant man. He had done nothing wrong, and did not deserve to die like this. Enri wanted to stop — but in the end she gritted her teeth and ran on.

The distance that felt fairly close while carrying water now felt like an endless stretch. As the sounds of shouts and cursing filtered into her ears, she finally saw her home before her.

"Dad! Mom! Nemu!"

Enri opened the door as she shouted for her family.

She found three familiar faces with unfamiliar looks of fear. They were motionless. However, when Enri opened the door and entered, their faces softened, the fear replaced by relief.

"Enri! Are you all right?"

Her father hugged her in his strong arms, which were brawny and tough from field work.

"Ahhh, Enri…"

Her mother's gentle arms embraced her.

"Good, Enri's back, then we'd better flee too!"

The Emmot family was in grave danger. They had stayed at home because they were worried about leaving Enri behind, and so they had missed the best chance to escape. The threat to their lives would be catching up with them any moment now.

As she thought about that fear, it became a reality.

Just as the family was about to run, a human figure appeared in the house's doorway. The man silhouetted by sunlight, glittered. He was a fully-armored knight whose breastplate bore the insignia of the Baharuth Empire. He held a longsword in his hand.

The Baharuth Empire was a neighbor of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and the two of them had waged frequent wars against each other. Until recently, the flames of war were mostly limited to the region around the Fortress City of E-Rantel, and had not spread to this village.

However, the quiet life they had enjoyed would end here.

Enri could feel the man's cold eyes on her from between the vision slits of his helmet, as though he were counting up how many people were in Enri's family. It frightened her.

The knight clenched the gauntlet holding his sword, and a creaking sound came from where metal rubbed against metal.

And then, just as he was about to enter the house—

"RUN!"

"Bastard!"

—Her father lunged at the man, tackling him out of the doorway and out of the house with his momentum.

"Hurry up and run!"

"Damn you!"

Blood streamed from a small cut on her father's face. He must have gotten hurt while bull-rushing the knight.

Enri's father was rolling around as he grappled with the knight on the ground. The knight grabbed the hand of Enri's father which was holding a knife, while he in turn kept the knight from drawing his shortsword.

The sight of blood on the body of one of her family members made Enri's mind go white. She wavered over whether to help her father or run away.

"Enri! Nemu!"

Her mother's shouts returned Enri to her senses, and as she looked at her mother, she saw the older woman shaking her head, with a heart-breaking expression on her face.

Enri grabbed her little sister's hand and ran after her mother with big strides. Guilt and hesitation clawed at her heart, but in the end, she knew they had to flee into the Great Forest of Tob.

The neighing of horses, angry shouts, the clash of steel, and the stench of burning flesh.

All these assaulted Enri's ears and nose from the direction of the village. Where had it come from? Enri ran with all her might as she tried to make sense of matters. When fleeing to an open space, she had to make her body as small as possible, or hide in the corners of houses.

The violent beating of her heart chipped away at the fear that threatened to freeze her body solid. In addition, the small hand she held in hers spurred her on.

—Her sister.

Her mother, who was running ahead of her, suddenly froze, and immediately doubled back, her hands frantically gesturing at them to run somewhere else.

As Enri realized why her mother would do that, she bit her lip, and forced back her tears.

She clenched her little sister's hand and ran, trying desperately to get away from there, because she did not want to see what would happen next.

She kept running and running but eventually she collapsed from exhaustion.

But her Instinct as an older sister kick in, she throws herself over her little sister as the knight had just caught up with her.

The knight in full plate armor stood before the girl and her little sister, his sword raised high.

His blade gleamed in the sun, and he Positioned himself, ready to end their lives in a single merciful stroke.

Enri squeezed her eyes tightly shut and bit her lower lip. She had never asked for this. She had been forced into her present circumstances. If only she had some strength, she might have resisted the enemy in front of her and fled.

However — she did not have that strength.

Thus, there could only be one outcome to this situation.

That would be her death, at this very place.

* * *

**—Present time—**

The knight swing his sword forward and cut enri back. Enri yelled out in pain as she desperately try to protect her sister and fight off the pain. Her back was bleeding and the wounds run deep and she was losing a lot of blood and began to feel dizzy.

The knight raised up his sword again and was prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

The **[GATE]** spell that Momonga used open behind Enri and yet no one stepped out.

"…Enri" The small brown hair girl wimpier in fear.

"Don't look nemu!" Enri shouted to the girl beneath her 'I have to find a way to save my little sister'. Enri did not even notice the swirling portal behind her as her only thoughts were to save her sister.

Enri waited for the pain and yet there was no pain.

Suddenly the longsword fell with clang—

The girl gingerly opened the eyes which had been squeezed shut.

The first thing she saw was the suddenly motionless longsword.

Then, she saw the sword's owner.

The knight in front of her was frozen in place, his eyes looking somewhere off to the girl's side. His completely defenseless posture clearly displayed the fear that filled him.

As though drawn by the knight's gaze, the girl could not help but turn and look in the same direction as him.

And so — the girl gazed upon despair.

What she saw was darkness.

It was an infinitesimally thin, yet unfathomably deep blackness. It was a half-oval of obsidian that seemed to protrude from the earth. It was a mysterious sight that filled the ones watching it with a powerful sense of unease.

'Was it a door?'

The girl could not help but think so after she saw what lay before her.

As her heart lurched, the girl's conjecture was confirmed.

Something seemed to be coming out of that shadowy passage.

And in the moment that it resolved itself in her eyes—

The knight standing behind the one that dropped his sword had just lowers his in fear.

In an instant, the air seemed to freeze.

It was as though time itself had stood still in the wake of a Supreme Being's advent.

The girl forgot to breathe, as if the sight had stolen her soul away.

"W-What i-is that?!" The knight stuttered in fear.

It was an opponent which humanity could not overcome.

Twin points of crimson light burned brightly within the empty eye sockets of a bleached skull. Those two points of light coldly scanned the girl and the others present, like a predator sizing up its prey. Within its fleshless hands it grasped a magic staff that seemed divine in nature, yet inspired dread in equal measure. It was like a crystallization of all the beauty in the world.

It wore an intricately detailed black robe, and it resembled nothing so much as an incarnation of death, born from the darkness of another world.

Behind the avatar of death walk out a white haired that almost appear transparent. His gaze is sharp like a steel blade, the man was of equal height to the overlord of death. His golden armor was of the finest and so polish it could used a mirror. He holds a lance of pure gold that radiate the power of the sun itself.

And from behind the godly beings of death was a gorgeous woman, who figures and aura can only be described as that of a goddess. From her head piece to her boots, every equipment on her was of the highest quality.

These avatar of death must have manifested itself in order to guide her to the land of the dead. It was only natural to think so. But then, the girl who thought this way suddenly realized that something was wrong. That was because the knight who had been planning to kill her from behind was now completely still.

"Gaaah!"

A cry that sounded like a wail crept into her ears.

From whose mouth had that sound come? It felt like it could have come from hers, or that of her little sister, shivering in fright, or from the mouth of the knight that had been about to kill her.

A skeletal hand slowly extended itself — its fingers spreading as though reaching for something, and they moved past the girl, toward the knight behind her.

She wanted to look away from it, but fear kept her gaze in place. She had the feeling that if she averted her eyes, she would see a far more horrible sight instead.

**[GRASP HEART]** The incarnation of death clenched its fists, and the girl heard the sound of crunching flesh and metal from behind her.

Though she was afraid to take her eyes away from the figure of death, curiosity got the better of her and the girl wrenched her eyes away, whereupon saw the body of the knight. He was sprawled motionless on the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

He was dead.

There was no doubt that he was dead.

The danger that had almost claimed the girl was no more. But this was no cause for celebration. The death that stalked her had merely taken a more concrete shape.

That death drew close to the girl, who watched it with terrified eyes.

The darkness in her field of vision grew ever larger.

It's going to swallow me up.

As the girl thought this, she clutched her sister tightly to herself.

The notion of escape no longer existed within the girl's head.

If her opponent were human, she might be able to cling to some faint hope and struggle desperately for her life. But the being before her shattered that hope like spun glass.

Please, at least let me die without any more pain.

That was all the girl could hope for.

Her shuddering sister hugged her tightly. All she could do was apologize for her weakness, for being unable to protect her sister's life. She prayed that her sister would not be lonely as they went on to the afterlife, because they would be travelling there together.

Momonga looked down upon the fallen knight.

It would seem that even killing someone did not stir any emotions within him.

There was no guilt, fear, or confusion in his heart, which was like the surface of a calm lake. Why was it like this?

The spell **[GRASP HEART]** was one that crushed a foe's heart, and among the ten tiers of spells, it was an instant death spell of the Ninth Tier. Many of necromantic spells which Momonga was adept with possessed instant death properties, and this was one of them.

Momonga had chosen to open with this spell because even if it was resisted, the spell would still temporarily stun his opponent.

If the spell had been resisted, his plan was to take the two girls and jump back into the still open **[GATE]**. He had already planned his route of retreat since he was not sure what his opponents could do.

However, it would seem those preparations would not be necessary.

A feeling of something soft crushing beneath Momonga's fingers travelled up his arm, and the knight collapsed silently to the ground.

'Well that a relief, I was afraid that 9th tire spell wouldn't work on those guys and I'd have to retreat' Momonga thought.

'Well you could've used your malay armor' Jeanne **[MESSAGE]**.

'Yeah But I'd like to save it for another day' Momonga **[MESSAGE] **back.

"IT A MONSTER!" The remaining knight yield in feared. Perhaps he was shocked by Momonga's sudden appearance, but the knight simply stared at Momonga, having apparently forgotten to swing the sword he was holding.

'Did anyone feel anything after seeing that guy got killed?' Karna joined the **[MESSAGE]**.

'No, nothing and I'm the one that killed him' Momonga repled.

'Same here' Jeanne said.

'Interesting, this only further my hypothesis, it seems we'd stop being human in both the physical and mental capacity' Karna conducted.

"**What kind of man can murder women and children but don't have nerve to face me**" Momonga said in a dark intimidating voice.

"**Well were here now and you are going to help us test out our power whether you like it or not**" Karna matched Momonga intimidating voice.

**[Divine Flame of Incineration] **The air suddenly grew scorching hot. Both of Karna arms was set ablaze in crimson flame and in a split second, the crimson flame shoot forward and completely devoured the knight. Scream was heard but not for long, soon not even a piece of ash was left of the knight.

"Let try making an undead" Momonga said "**[CREATE—MID— TIER—UNDEAD: DEATH KNIGHT]" **the knight who'd heart was crushed by Momonga a moment earlier began to raise and black liquids oozed out his eyes mouth and ears until it covers his entire body.

'Hem interesting, it taking over a dead body, it didn't work like that in YGGDRASIL' Karna thought.

A moment later he'd had transformed into a death knight level 35 undead creatures he stands at 2 meters tall with a crooked body. It was already equipped with both hands, a rippled sword called a Flamberge and a huge shield known as a Tower Shield. The Death Knights looked upon as huge creatures equipped with an armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it. Moreover, the armor has sharp thorns everywhere and looks like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns are protruded from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It has a disgusting, rotted face whose empty eye sockets are filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a flashing red light.

"Death knight kill anyone in that village who is wearing silver armor" Momonga commanded.

"RAWRRRR!" The Death knight scream and charged into the village.

'You really need to think your order through, what the point of summoning a defensive monster if your just going to send it away' Jeanne **[MESSAGE]**.

'Yeah, yeah I know…' Momonga reply slightly dum founded.

A full armor plate Albedo stepped out of the portal that was still open behind Enri.

Albedo was clad in the armor that her creator gave, Hermes Trismegistus: A Divine Item. It is full plate mail consisting of three layers of armor designed to repel physical damage it is very sturdy and can tank 3 of the most powerful attack with only the cost of one of the armor layers. There armored is a three-part suit of pitch-black metal crafted in the resemblance of a devil. A pair of horns would sprout across both sides of the helm while the exterior surface of the suit is covered with spikes. Aside from the thinly carved slit that serves as a visor, the armor does not reveal even the tiniest exposure of flesh. The innermost layer is an assimilation armor in liquid form which fits the body perfectly and enhances physical abilities. The next layer is a complete full-body armor layer, like an undershirt. And finally, the outermost layer covers the inner layers and increases defenses even more. In order, the layers break by: 1) additional armor, 2) full-body armor, and 3) assimilation armor she also carries a battle-ax with her.

Though classified as a Divine Class Item, it specializes solely in physical defense with no other abilities. Due to its three layers, it would take three attacks to break the armor. If Albedo uses her trump card or skill to defend against a player's super-tier spell, the damage will be absorbed by this armor instead, and it might break from that blow even if it was enchanted with strengthening spells. This metallic armor was noted to have high defense, but low HP.

"It took longer than expected but I'm here now my lord, please forgive my lateness" Albedo said in a sweet voice, but due to her helmet, her sweet voice was somewhat lessened and instead it echoed demonic like.

"It okay Albedo, you don't have to apologize" Jeanne said with a smile.

"Thank you my lady" under her helmet, Albedo was smiling the brightest of smile.

"Now then, how would you like me to deal with these lower life form" Albedo voice was dripping with disgusted as she looked over to enri who hold her little sister tighter.

'Is that how she think of humans' the 3 supreme beings thought.

"These 2 are no threat, the human wearing the armor are the one we are after" Karna said 'lower life form huh, I need to keep this in mind, in case I ever need to send her out on her own one of these days'

"I understand my lord" Albedo turn her attention away from the human girl and look at Karna.

"It looks like your bleeding pretty badly, here…" Jeanne reaches out her hand to use healing magic but was stopped by the nemu.

"No please don't hurt my sister!" The little girl scream as she beak out of her sister tight embrace and ran in front of enri and spread out her arms to shield her beloved's sister.

"please, spare my sister" nemu eyes were filled with tears as she bravely stood her grounds.

"nemu!" Enri yelled as try to grab nemu, but the pain that stemmed from her back made it very difficult.

Momonga watched the little sister weeping as she tried to defend her elder sister, while the elder sister grab her little sister and was trying to protect her. Their reactions confused Momonga.

After all, he had saved them in a tight spot, and had even offered them a potion. Why were they acting like this in front of him? What was going on here?

They don't trust me at all. Even though I wanted to leave them to their fate at first, I ended up being their saviour in the end. They should be crying and hugging me in gratitude. Isn't this sort of thing common in manga and movies? But the exact opposite is happening now.

Where did I go wrong? Could it be that being instantly accepted is a privilege of the beautiful?

'what the heck is going on, did they forget we just save their lives, why don't they trust us' Momonga though.

'I don't know, maybe it is the fact that you are a 2 meter tall skeleton and that red orb floating inside your rib cage give off a negative energy of fear, but na that can't be the reason' Karna sarcastically reply.

"HOW DARE YOU TREAT A SUPREME BEING ACT OF KINDNESS THAT WAY YOU LITTLE LOWLY LIVE FORM INSECT!" Albedo scream as she raises up her axe to kill the lower life form who dare to behave in such a way before a supreme beings, especially when the supreme beings was offering to heal them, an honor that they don't even deserve in her eyes.

Enri force herself to move, despite the pain she lunges forward and grab her sister.

"NO, calm down Albedo, lower your weapon at once!" Momonga quickly orders in panic.

"As you wish my lord" Albedo tone took a 180 turn.

"It ok, I'm not going to hurt you alright, I'm just going to heal you with magic" Jeanne smile. Enri was remaining silent 'her beauty is so holy, she's like an angel of God, in all my life I have never met someone as beautiful as her before, and her voice it calming and beautiful'

"T-thank y-you my lady" enri said nervously.

Jeanne gauntlet hand extended forward and glowed in a bright gold.

A second later her back which had a huge sword wound was gone.

"I assume the pain is gone now" Jeanne ask in a sweet motherly tone.

"Yes it is" enri said as she tries to look behind her back to see that the blood that had soaked her clothes was also gone.

'Hem, so magic also is this world, otherwise those girls wouldn't be so trusting when Jeanne offer to heal them'

"tell me something, have you ever known someone using magic before?" Karna asked.

"Um, y-yes, I have a friend who frequent our village, he's a pharmacist who practices magic" enri explains.

'So magic is common in this world, if that is the case we need to be extra careful, I wonder how strong are the magic in this world compared to YGGDRASIL?'

"Perfect, then this is not hard to understand, we are magic caster as well" Momonga said. He then raised his hand a magic green circle appears "**[ANTI-LIFE COCOON]—[PROTECTION FROM ARROWS WALL]" **Momonga chanted "there, I have caste 2 protection magic around you, you'll be safe as long as you stay put, but just in case take these as well" Momonga through 2 horn into the green circle that had appeared around the two girls.

"If you blow the horn then an army of goblin with appear and do you bidding, do not hesitate to use them" Momonga said as he, Karna, Jeanne and Albedo turn and walk away.

In YGGDRASIL, electronic data crystals dropped from monsters could be slotted into almost any sort of item (apart from certain expendable items), in order to create just about any item a player could think of. In addition there were certain artifacts which could not be created by players and had fixed stats. These horns were examples of them.

Momonga had used the horn before, and at that time it managed to summon a Goblin Troop, twelve or so Goblins with some measure of ability. There were two Goblin Archers, one Goblin Mage, a Goblin Cleric, two Goblin Riders and their wolf mounts, as well as one Goblin Leader.

Although it was called a Goblin Troop, their numbers were few and they were very weak.

This was a trash item for Momonga. The surprise was why he had not disposed of it yet.

Another good point about this item was that the summoned Goblins would linger until they were killed instead of vanishing after a while. That could at least buy the girls some time.

"Excuse me, we want to say thank you so much, we are forever in you diet so may I know the name of the people who save me and my sister?" Enri asked.

'A name, yes they should all know' Momonga thought.

"You shall remember it well and tell everyone of my powers, I am Ainz Ooal Gown!" Momonga turned and said with a majestic grace and a confident tone.

"And I am Sieg" Karna also turned and said.

"And you may know me as Laeticia D'Arc" Jeanne said.

-In The Village-

"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The mighty roar shattered the air.

It was the signal for a slaughter to become a massacre of a different sort.

In the blink of an eye, the hunters had become the hunted.

Londes Di Gelanpo had probably cursed his gods more times in the past ten seconds than he had in the rest of his life. If the gods really did exist, then they should defeat that evil being right now. Londes was a faithful man — why had the gods abandoned him?

The gods did not exist.

In the past, he had looked down on those people who did not believe in the gods as fools. After all, if the gods did not exist, how could the priests work their magic? And now, he realised that he was the foolish one.

The monster before him — a Death Knight, for lack of a better word — drew closer.

He took two steps back in response, trying to get away from it.

A shrill creaking noise came from his armor, and the sword he clutched in both hands were trembling uncontrollably. He was not the only one; the other eighteen knights surrounding the Death Knight were all acting the same way.

Although they were filled with fear, none of them ran. This was not courage — the grinding of their teeth could attest to that. If they could, they would run as fast and as far as they could.

It was because they knew there was no escape.

Londes's eyes shifted, pleading for help.

This square was at the center of the village, where Londes and his men had gathered sixty or so villagers. They looked fearfully at Londes and his men, while a group of children were hiding behind a wooden watchtower.

Some of the children held sticks, but none of them was in a fighting stance. It was all they could do not to drop their sticks.

During Londes's attack on the village, they had chased the villagers to the central square. They searched the houses, and then, in order to root out anyone who was hiding in the cellars, they poured in alchemical oils and set them on fire.

There were four knights standing guard around the village with bows, and their job was to shoot down anyone who tried to escape the village. They had done this several times now, and it could be said that they were old hands at this sort of thing.

The massacre had taken a fair bit of time, but it had been successful, and they had gathered the surviving villagers into one place. After that, they would release some of the prisoners as bait.

It should have been like that, but—

Londes still remembered that moment.

The sight of Erion flying through the air, after the last few villagers fled into the square.

It should have been impossible. Nobody knew what was going on. How could they understand the reason why a trained, grown man in full plate armor — which still had some weight even if it was lightened by magic — could fly through the air like a ball?

After soaring about seven meters through the air, he fell to the earth with a thunderous crash and lay still.

A bone-chilling monster stood where Erion had been. The hair-raising undead being called a Death Knight lowered the tower shield that had bashed Erion and stood before them.

This was when their despair began.

"Aiiieeeee!"

Their panicked squeals echoed through the air. One of the men huddled together with his comrades could not bear the oppressive terror and fled with a scream.

Under these extreme circumstances, it was only natural that — when stretched to the breaking point — people would snap. However, among all of the fleeing man's comrades, not one of them joined him. The reason was that would soon be evident.

A black gale whirled past the field of Londes's vision.

The Death Knight's body was larger than a normal human's, but its nimble grace was far beyond anyone's expectations.

The fleeing man only managed to take three steps.

Just as he was about to take his fourth step, an arc of silver brilliance cleaved his body in two. The bisected left and right halves of his body collapsed in opposite directions. A sour stench filled the air as his pink internal organs spilled out.

"GUWOOOOOOOOOOHHH!" the blood-covered Death Knight roared as it swung its sword.

It was a roar of joy.

The look of delight was unmistakable, even on its rotted face. As an overwhelmingly superior slaughterer, it savored the despair and terror of the pitiful humans who could not even survive a single one of its blows.

Nobody dared attack, though they had swords in hand.

At first, they had tried an attack, though they were afraid. But even those blades which had made it past their foe's defense could not strike a telling blow through the Death Knight's armor.

In contrast, the Death Knight did not use its sword, but sent Londes flying with a shield bash, and it did so without using enough force to kill.

It was clearly toying with them, given the way it did not use its full strength. It was plain to see that the Death Knight wanted to enjoy the dying struggles of these humans.

The Death Knight only dealt fatal blows in earnest when the knights tried to escape.

The first knight to run was Ririk. He was a nice guy but a bad drunk. His limbs were chopped off, followed by his head.

After seeing the two deaths, the other knights knew the score, so they did not dare to flee.

Their attacks were ineffective, and they would be killed if they tried to run.

The only thing they could do was wait their turn to be tortured to death.

Although there was no way to see their faces below the full helms they wore, everyone present was keenly aware of their fate. The wails of grown men reduced to children echoed throughout the village. These men who had always oppressed the weak had not thought that one day, they would be on the receiving end of that treatment.

"Oh God, please save me…"

"Oh god…"

After hearing these cries for salvation, the strength left Londes's legs and he almost fell to his knees. He loudly cursed the gods — or was it a prayer to them?

"You, you lot, go hold that monster back!" a desperate knight shouted. He knew that his fate was sealed. His words sounded like an off-key psalm.

The man who spoke was standing next to the Death Knight. The way he was stumbling back on his tiptoes to back away from the corpse of his comrade was quite comical.

Londes frowned as he looked on that man in his pathetic state. It was hard to tell who had spoken those words because their closed helmets covered their faces and their voices were distorted by fear. Still, he knew that only one man would speak like that.

...Captain Belius.

Londes's frown deepened.

Overcome by his lewd desires, he had tried to rape a village girl and then sought help from others after he got into a fight with her father. After he was pulled off the other man, he vented his anger by stabbing the father with his sword. That was the kind of man he was. However, his family was quite wealthy in their country, and he had joined this unit because of his family's riches.

Everything had gone wrong because he had been made their leader.

"I'm not someone who should die here! All of you, hurry up and protect me! Be my shields!"

Nobody moved. He might have been appointed their leader, but he was not popular at all. Nobody would throw their lives away for a man like this.

However, the Death Knight responded to his shouting, and it slowly turned to face Belius.

"Ahhhaaaaa!"

The only thing praiseworthy about him was that he could make so much noise while standing in front of the Death Knight.

Just as Londes began to respect this odd quality of Belius's, he heard the man shriek in terror:

"Money, I'll give you money! Two hundred gold pieces! No, five hundred gold pieces!"

Those were considerable amounts he was talking about. However, right now, it was like telling them that he would pay them to jump off a five hundred meter cliff.

Although nobody responded, one person — no, half a person moved as though in reply to him.

"Uuuuaahuu"

The right half of the bisected corpse gripped Belius's ankles firmly. The bloody gargling from its mouth hardly sounded like words.

"—Aaaaahhhhh!" Belius screamed in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. The onlooking knights and villagers were frozen in fear, their skin covered in goosebumps.

Squire Zombies.

In YGGDRASIL, creatures killed by the Death Knight would become undead of comparable power, haunting the place where they were killed. According to the game's rules, those damned souls who fell to the Death Knight's blade would become its slaves for all eternity.

Belius stopped screaming, and fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut, facing the sky. He must have passed out. The Death Knight drew closer to the defenseless man and stabbed its wavy-blade flamberge down.

Belius's body twitched, and—

"Gaaaaaaaaaargh!"

Woken by the incredible pain, Belius screamed, "Leh, leh me guh! Ah begging-g-ing eh! A- i'll duh-do anything!"

Using both hands, Belius desperately grabbed the flamberge that had already penetrated his body, but the Death Knight paid his futile struggles no heed and worked the flamberge like a saw. His flesh and armor were cruelly torn open, and fresh blood flew everywhere.

"—Aah—ah—ah giv ya monee, le-t, m-ee me go!"

Belius's body shuddered, and then he breathed his last. Only then was the Death Knight satisfied, and it stepped away from Belius's corpse.

"No… no… please, no…"

"Oh god!"

Their screams came from seeing the ghastly sight before them. If they ran, they would die swiftly, but if they stayed, they would die horribly. They knew that perfectly well, but still, they could not bring themselves to move.

"—Get a grip!"

Londes's shout tore through their wailing. The world was filled with silence, as though time was standing still.

"—Fall back! Sound the horn for the horsemen and archers to come here! The rest of you, do your best to buy some time for the hornblower! I'd rather not die like that, if you don't mind! Now move!"

Everyone moved in an instant.

There was no sign of their earlier panic. Everyone moved in silent unison, like a raging waterfall.

Their mechanical obedience to their orders without thinking created a miracle. There was no way they could move so immaculately again.

The knights each did what they were supposed to do. They had to protect the knight who would blow the horn and signal the others.

One of the soldiers who had taken several steps back lowered his sword and withdrew his horn from his bag.

"OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Death Knight charged, as though reacting to the horn being taken out. Everyone was shocked. Could it be that the Death Knight wanted to destroy their means of escape so he could kill them to the last man?

The flood of darkness drew closer and closer, and everyone knew that stepping forward to try and stop it was certain death. However, the knights still climbed over each other to block the Death Knight one after the other. Their fear was wiped away by an even greater fear and they surged forward to become obstacles.

Every time its shield moved, a knight was smashed through the air.

Every time its blade flashed, a knight was cut in two.

"Dezun! Morett! Behead the fallen! Hurry, before they come back as monsters!"

The named knights hurriedly ran toward their murdered comrades.

The shield swung, and a knight was thrown into the air. His body was bisected by the flamberge.

Four men had lost their lives in the blink of an eye. Though Londes was still gripped with fear, he readied his sword against the coming of the jet-black storm, like a martyr preparing to give his life for his faith.

"Ohhhh!"

It might have been a meaningless gesture, but Londes did not intend to wait for death. Giving voice to a battlecry, he swung his sword with all his strength at the oncoming Death Knight.

Perhaps it was because of his circumstances, but Londes's muscles broke their limit and surprised him. It might have been the best blow Londes had ever struck in his life.

The Death Knight swung its flamberge as well.

Time itself felt like it had slowed.

In an instant, the world before Londes spun—

And he saw his decapitated corpse collapse to the ground, as his sword swung through thin air.

Just then, at that moment, the horn rang out—

"Stop Death Knight, you've served me well!" The deep commanding voice of Momonga/Ainz ranged through the village square.

The villager was all huddling together in one area as they did not know what was going on. They looked up to the sky and saw four figures floating several feet above them.

An envy masked Momonga/Ainz Ooal Gown landed with Karna who was now sieg and Laeticia D'Arc who is Jeanne D'arc along with Albedo.

Ainz turn to the knights "My name Ainz Ooal Gown, It is a pleasure to meet all of you" Ainz calmly said, the knight just stood there, still frozen in fear "Don't worry about my Death Knight, no harm will come to you now, so tell your Supervi- i mean owner of my kindness, however if you commit such a heinous act in this area again, I will bring death to your entire kingdom" Ainz said.

"So leave now and make sure you speak the name of Ainz Ooal Gown to everyone you know" sieg ordered and with that the knights flee as fast as they can.

'Hhha, acting as a tough gig' Ainz wince in annoyance.

"Um, pardon me sir…" the village chief said hesitantly "b-but why did you saved us?".

"We just can't stand by and watch innocent people be murdered when we have the strength to help" Laeticia sweet and kindly voice put all the villagers at ease.

"So be at ease, from this point on this village will be under our protection" Ainz reassured.

But the villagers look at eachother confused, Sieg seeing this was also confused 'hem, weird in the old world, when people do something to help you and say it was out of the kindness of their heart, you just leave it as that, but these villagers are expecting something deeper…'

"But we don't do this kind of work for free, we expect to be compensated for our work" Sieg said shocking Ainz and Laeticia.

'Um Karna what are you doing?' Ainz **[MESSAGE]**.

'Yeah, what are you doing' Laeticia joined in.

'Just look at them' Karna calmly replied.

The villagers looked at each other with a smile on their faces 'as I suspected the villagers won't question my intentions if they think I'm doing this for financial gain' Sieg though.

'That is weird' Momonga though.

'Think about it, there are knight and villages, the house look like they are made out of wood and straw, and their clothing and speech style are old, like medieval era old where we are from. So the logical conclusion I came up with is that we are stuck in a world where technology and culture are around the dark ages' Sieg explains.

'So if go by things in our world, money is everything in these time' Laeticia concluded.

'Yep, if you have the money, your essentially invincible and before I forget, Momonga make sure to wipe the two girls memories that we'd save back there' Sieg said.

'Why, OH dammit, if only I had thought to conceal my face!'

Laeticia sigh 'well I guess we'll just have to use a spell to keep those girls quiet, I hope memory magic work in this new world'.

A few hours have passed since Ainz, Sieg and Laeticia had saved the village. Ainz was currently trying to get some information about the new world. While Sieg and Laeticia was out exploring the village alone with Albedo.

'I requested money from the village as to not arouse any suspicions but information was what I was truly after, since we are unfamiliar with this new world, we'd need to learn everything we can about the area, failing to educate ourselves will only make us weak to an enemy' Ainz silently **[MESSAGE]** Sieg and Laeticia.

Said two where currently outside with Albedo very close by since she processed on being near the supreme beings at all times to protect them since she was built as a tank.

'Right, so what happens next, did you get any good information out of the village chief?' Sieg asked.

'The village chief and his wife believe my story about us being hermit who was very Knowledgeable about magic but knows nothing of the outside world, so they were strangely very eager to educate me about the village and the surrounding areas' Ainz explained.

'I wonder though, what kind of people practices magic in this world that would make these people trust us so easily?' Sieg asked 'even though Momonga is wearing a mask of jealousy that concealed his face, they dropped their guard just because he claimed to be a magic caster'.

'In YGGDRASIL even beginners could get this thing if they stay in on christmas night, so that mean these people don't know about YGGDRASIL' Laeticia concluded.

'Maybe, and this fact is further strengthened by the fact that all of our YGGDRASIL currencies was useless here, but gold itself did hold some value' Momonga said.

'If that the case then flashing theses coin around might be dangerous, until we know more about this world we should keep a very low profile' Sieg said.

'Your right, so anything else Momonga?' Laeticia asked.

'After that I asked about the surrounding territory, there are 3 main territories that surround this village and Nazarick, the Re-estize kingdom, the Baharuth empire and the Slain theocracy, Nazarick and this village, which is known as carne village is apart of the Re-estize kingdom border near the what is called the katze plain where the Re-estize kingdom and the Baharuth empire do battle every year so that means those two don't get along well, on the other side of the domain adjacent to the great mountain range that runs north and south that is where the Baharuth empire lies, and the final country is the Slain theocracy which is located to the south of both provinces' Ainz explains.

'So it either the Baharuth empire or the Slain theocracy that attack this village' Laeticia concluded.

'The village chief said that he thinks the Baharuth empire did it since the crest on the knight shield has the same crested of the Baharuth empire on it'

'Hem, so it is most likely that it was the Slain theocracy that did this huh' Sieg said.

'Huh, and how do you know that?' Laeticia questioned.

'Yeah'

'Don't forget I was a high ranking military officer once, tactics like these are common, you attack a neighboring country and make them think it was their enemy country and then you just side with the country you just attack enemies' Sieg explains 'but this could also be a tactic on the Baharuth empire side to lower the trust of the Re-estize kingdom people thus making it harder for them to maintain control over their people but it most likely the theocracy did it'.

'...wow Karna' Ainz was speechless, Karna could figure out all that just by hearing a heavily shortened explanation of the situation 'Well the guy didn't make to general for nothing I guess…'

'If only we'd had taken a knight as a hostage then we would had known what had actually happened' Laeticia said.

"Is something the matter?" The village chief asked Ainz.

"No I'm fine, so is there anything else that is important that I should know about this region?" Ainz asked.

"Well the closest city to our village is the Kingdom capital city of E-rantel, goblin, orcs and ogres inhabit the area but you should be safe as long as you stay on the trail and the adventurer hunt on those lands and they are doing a good job at keeping those monster populations in check" the village chief explains.

"Adventurer?" Ainz questioned.

"They are mercenary who are in charge of dealing with those monsters in exchange for payment from their clients or the kingdom governments, if you want to hire one of them, then there is a guild in E-rantel that can offer their services".

"An adventurers guild hem, then just how big is the city of E-rantel?"

"Well it differently larger than our village"

"I can guess that"

'If we want to find out more than we'd need to make a home in the capital' Laeticia said she had listen to the whole conversation between Ainz and the village chief.

Laeticia and Sieg along with Albedo walk around the village. As they walk they saw the villagers was all gather around a small seminary to mourn over their fallen brother, sister and mother and father who was killed when the knights attack the village.

"I could use silent resurrection magic to bring the dead villagers back to life but who knows what trouble that will cause" Laeticia said sadly as she saw the two girls from before Enri and Nemu crying over there parents graves.

"They might not be so trusting of a magic caster who is as good as reversing death as well as bringing it, they should contempt by the fact that we'd had save their village" Sieg said silently 'even though I can't feel anything I still go through the act huh, hehe I guess no matter how much of a monster I became there is still a part of me that is human'

They continue on by this time the sun was about to set and Ainz had finished his conversation with the village chief and was walking with Laeticia, Sieg and Albedo who was give every human who got in front of the supreme beings a dirty and disgusted glare. Though no one could see it because her beautiful face was covered by her helmet, though people can definitely feel it.

"thanks to our good deed the story about our doing here will spread across the country side" Sieg said.

"Our reputation should grow quickly and if there are other YGGDRASIL player that are stacked here too they seek us out" Laeticia said.

"So we shouldn't kill anymore human unless necessary the last thing I want is to antagonize any players" Ainz said.

"Also, a man with a reputation need a cause one that will allow us to win the support of one of the country's" Sieg said as he took a small glance behind him to Albedo slightly confused and unsure. Thought he could not see her face because of her helmet, he sure that was what going through her head based on her body movement.

"Today's mission was a success so let head back home Albedo" Sieg said as he brock Albedo out of her confusion.

"Right away my lord" Albedo said gently.

A man carrying a decent sized wooden beam walk pass the group, immediately after this Albedo silently glared daggers at the man.

"Hem, you seem to dislike human" Sieg finally brought up the subject that was bothering him the entire time that he and Laeticia was waiting out the village chief house.

"What is it to like about them, they are _weak_ and _pathetic, just _tiny insects meant to be crushed under foot" Albedo said with a disgusted and emphasize weak and pathetic.

"Listen to me Albedo I want you to at the very least act like you are showing them respect and kindness" Laeticia said as she looked back at Albedo who was slightly shocked.

'Why would a supreme being care about humans, they are The highest form of existence and their powers are absolute, so the only logical reason that Lady Jeanne would care about sniveling, lower life form these humans is that they are going to be useful someday, AH, the supreme ones are truly kind and wise!' Albedo concluded.

'It hypocritical of me to ask that of her when I don't even feelings for them either it must be a side effect of being a heteromorph, though I am an angel so my karma is high, it doesn't make that much sense that I can't feel anything for them, if the theory of karma dictates a person aliment is corrected' Laeticia though.

The group stopped their walk when they saw the villagers all gather up and some were having what looked to be a panic attack written on their faces.

'Huh, the troubles keeps coming' Sieg said tiredly.

"Village chief is something the matter?" Ainz walk up to the villagers and question.

"Lord Ainz Thank goodness, there are more soldiers on horseback heading our way at breakneck speed" the village chief said with panic.

"Is that so, then don't worry we will handle the situation, please gather all the villagers around your house and when you are done come meet me at the town square" Ainz ordered.

"Yes of course!" The village chief said with relief.

A moment later all the villagers were inside the village chief house, some were peeping out of the windows to see what was going on.

Soon a small army of only 50 men on horseback came into view. Ahead of all these men was Gazef stronoff the royal head warriors of the Re-estize kingdom.

"I am the chief royal head warriors of the Re-estize kingdom, Gazef Stronoff the king has ordered me to hunt down the knight that has been attacking surrounding villages, so you are safe now I will do everything in my power to protect you" Gazef said triumphantly like a hero has come to save the day.

"Thank you General Gazef" the village chief said great respected. Gazef was once a commoner like them but he is the strongest warriors in the kingdom so many patients looked up Gazef like a hero.

"Are you the chief of the village and who are these strong people beside you?" Gazef asked 'jugging by their clothes they don't seem to have come from the Re-estize kingdom and they are probably of noble houses as well by how fine and beautiful there clothes are'

"This people save-" the village chief was cut off by Ainz.

"That not important right now, but is great to meet you acquainted general, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown"

"And I am Sieg" Gazef gaze averted from the picoult tall man wearing strange but very expensive robe and accessory and looked over to see a very handsome man with white hair.

"It a pleasure to meet you, and I am Laeticia D'arc" Gazef was at a loss for words on how to describe her beauty. From her smooth and silky golden hair to her amethyst eyes and her perfect figured she was a thousand times more beautiful than the golden princess herself.

"And we are just a group of magic user who happen to stumble upon this village as it was being ransacked my the knights" Sieg quickly said to break up the dazed look on Gazef face 'if he look at Jeanne like that again I'm killing him' Sieg thought darkly.

'...what the hell, where did that come from?' Sieg though with slight shock.

"Hem, I see, then these villagers would have been lost without you thank you sir Ainz, sir Sieg and you as well my lady" Gazef dismount And slightly bowed in thanks.

"General, we'd spotted a large group of magic caster of unknown origins, they surrounding the village as we speak!" One of the knights ran up behind Gazef yield.


	4. Character Stats Card - Karna

**—****Karna**

**-Heteromorphic Race**

**-****title****: The Son of The Sun God**

**-****Job****: One of the a almighty 41 Supreme Beings**

**Ainz Ooal Gown strongest**

**Residents****: The Great Tomb of Nazarick**

**room in 9th floor**

**STATS:**

**Race:**

**Flame Demon 15 lv **

**Demon Emperor 10 lv **

**Heroics Spirit 5 lv**

**Lord**** Of Flame**** 5 lv**

**ArchDevil 5 lv**

**Job Classes:**

**Conqueror**** of Flame 10 lv**

** Prince of Chaos 10 lv **

**Lancer of Flame 10 lv**

**Demon Lord Candidate ****5 lv**

**Son of The Sun God 5 lv**

**Divinity 5 lv**

**True Immortal 5 lv**

**Race (40) + Job Class (60) Total Level: 100**


	5. Chapter 4 - The Almighty Supreme Beings

**CHAPTER 4**

**MIGHT OF THE SUPREME BEINGS**

Within a beautiful cathedral the Slain theocracy flag was proudly displayed and standing above a flight of stairs is 6 priests.

"Nigun grid luin, as captain of the sunlit scripture one of the six scripture of the six great gods, you are called to serve with great honor, you are to go to the Re-estize kingdom and locate Gazef Stronoff and eliminate him" said the high priest as he pulled out a large blue shining crystal the size of his hand "this treasure contain a miracle of the gods, use it only if necessary".

These men were a black ops group from the Slaine Theocracy. Though their reputation spread far and wide, little was known about their members. They belonged to one of the Six Scriptures who answered directly to the high priests of the Slaine Theocracy. They were the Sunlight Scripture, whose mission was to exterminate demi-human settlements.

However, there were very few of these men, who were the most involved of the Six Scriptures in combat. There were only around a hundred of them in total.

This was because the recruitment standards for the Sunlight Scripture were very strict.

Entry required the ability to cast third tier divine magic, which was also the highest tier of magic that ordinary magic casters could reach. In addition, prospective recruits had to be in excellent physical condition, and they had to possess a strong will and deep faith.

In other words, they were the elite among other elite combatants.

The man quietly sighed as he watched his men disperse. Once they scattered to take their positions, it would be very hard to be sure of their movements. However, he was not worried about their skillful encirclement of the village.

The Sunlight Scripture's commander, Nigun Grid Luin, only felt the peace of mind that came with knowing that success was at hand.

The Sunlight Scripture was not used to long-term clandestine operations in the field. As a result, they had missed four chances to finish the mission in the past. They were exceedingly careful every time they closed in on Gazef and his men of the Kingdom, in order to avoid being spotted. If they missed this chance as well, these days of tracking and pursuing would drag on and on.

"Next time… I'd like to ask the other teams for help, and leave some of the work to them."

Someone answered Nigun's gripes.

"That's right, we've always been specialized in extermination, after all."

The speaker was one of the men who had stayed behind to protect Nigun.

"I mean, this is a strange mission. Usually, we would have backup from the Windflower Scripture for something as important as this."

"Indeed, I don't know why they only deployed us this time round. Still, this will be good experience for us. We can take this as training in infiltrating enemy territory. Hm, for all we know, that was what the people on top intended."

Nigun said that, but he was very clear that another mission of this nature would be very unlikely.

The orders he had been given were to "assassinate the greatest warrior of the Kingdom, the man famed in the surrounding countries for his matchless might, Gazef Stronoff."

This was not the sort of task which would usually be assigned to the Sunlight Scripture. Instead, it would have been the province of the Theocracy's most powerful special operations unit, the Black Scripture, whose members wielded the power of heroes. However, it was not possible this time round.

The reason was top secret, so he could not tell his subordinates, but Nigun knew the truth.

The Black Scripture was protecting the holy relic "Kei Seke Kouku" in preparation against the resurrection of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, while the Windflower Scripture was busy chasing the traitor who had made off with a relic of the Miko Princesses. Neither of them had the free time to help them.

Nigun unconsciously felt the scar on his cheek.

He remembered the only time in the past where he had forced to flee with his tail between his legs. The face of that girl with the jet-black demonic sword rose in his mind.

Magic could have easily healed the wound without leaving a mark, but he had purposely left the scar to engrave the lesson of that humiliating defeat into his heart.

"...That damnable Blue Rose."

The members of Blue Rose were citizens of the Kingdom, just like Gazef. Their priestess was the one who most drew his ire. Besides the fact that she was an infidel who worship another god, she had stopped Nigun while he was planning to attack demihumans, and even believed that she was on the side of justice in doing so.

"...Humanity is weak, and it uses any and all means to defend itself. Anyone who doesn't know that is an utter and complete fool."

One of the subordinates seemed to have sensed the anger smoldering in Nigun's glassy black eyes, and interjected:

"But, but the Kingdom is foolish too."

Nigun did not answer, although he agreed with those words.

Gazef was very strong, so in order to weaken him, they had to deprive him of his panoply.

Upon a hill overlooking Carne village stood a dozen robed mage neatly lined up in front of nigun their captain.

"Attention all units our prey had entered the cage, devote yourself to the gods and carry out their will.''

Everyone began their silent prayers, a shortened version of their usual praise to their gods.

They had to spend time in prayer even when operating in another country. This was not complacency on their part, but a symbol of their faith in their gods.

These men who offered everything to the Slaine Theocracy and the gods they revered were far more devout than the average citizen of the Theocracy. This was why they could perform cruel acts without the slightest bit of hesitation, and why they felt no guilt for doing so.

After their prayers, the eyes of every man present were as hard and cold as glass.

"Begin."

With that one single word, they neatly encircled the village in a way that would appear to onlookers as the product of long, hard training.

The Kingdom was divided into the Noble and the Royal factions. Since they were opposed to Gazef, a prominent figure in the Royal faction, the Noble faction was easily led to take political action to eliminate him. They did not even pause to consider that the impetus for their deeds came from a foreign power.

Gazef was a commoner who had risen to his current station by dint of his swordplay, and so the nobles despised him.

And that had led to this conclusion.

The Kingdom's trump card would soon be lost by their own hands.

That was a supremely foolish move to Nigun.

They — the Slaine Theocracy — might be divided into six sects, but whenever they needed to act, they did so as one.

One reason for that was because everyone respected each other's gods. The other was because everyone knew that there were many inhuman tribes and monsters in this world, and that they would be in danger if they did not work together.

"...Which is why everyone should walk the path of the righteous teachings together. Humanity should not fight amongst itself, but work hand in hand to bring about a better and brighter future."

Gazef would be the sacrifice for that.

"...Can we kill him?"

Nigun did not mock his subordinate's unease.

Their prey was the Kingdom's Chief Warrior — the strongest man in the region — Gazef Stronoff.

Eliminating him would be more difficult than attacking and exterminating the inhabitants of a huge goblin village. In order to dispel his underlings' fears, Nigun calmly replied:

"It will be fine. Right now, he does not possess any of the Kingdom's treasures, the ones which he is permitted to bear. Without them, killing him will be a piece of cake… no, it would be better to say that without them, this is our only chance to kill him."

The Kingdom's Chief Warrior, Gazef Stronoff, was famed as the strongest fighter in the land. But there was a reason for that reputation beyond his extraordinary swordsmanship.

That reason was the five heirlooms of the Kingdom. Although only four of them were known, he was permitted to bear all of them.

The Gauntlets of Vitality, that made their user immune to fatigue. The Amulet of Immortality, which constantly regenerated his wounds. The Guardian Armor, made of adamantite and enchanted to ward off critical hits. Razor's Edge, the sword created and enchanted in pursuit of sharpness, which could slice through armor like the proverbial hot knife through butter.

Even Nigun could not hope to triumph in a head-on attack against Gazef Stronoff, whose offensive and defensive ability increased astronomically when he used those items. No, it might well be that no human could defeat him when he was like that. However, he did not have those treasures with him now, so this was a great chance for Nigun.

"And then… we also have a trump card of our own. This is a battle we cannot possibly lose."

Nigun patted his chest lightly.

In this world, there were three types of magic items which fell outside the usual types and classifications.

The first kind were the relics from five hundred years ago, left behind by the Eight Greed Kings who had conquered the world in an instant.

The next kind came from the Dragons, who were once the masters of the world before they were decimated by the Eight Greed Kings. The most powerful Dragons, the Dragon Lords, made the secret treasures of dragonkind.

And the third kind were the keystones of the Slaine Theocracy, the artifacts left behind from when the Six Gods descended upon the world six hundred years ago.

Those were the three types.

What Nigun had in his breast pocket now was a rare treasure that very few people in the Slaine Theocracy possessed. In other words, it was Nigun's secret weapon.

Nigun glanced at the metal band on his wrist. Numbers floated up from its surface, indicating that the appointed time had come.

"Then… begin the operation."

Nigun and his subordinates began casting spells.

They summoned the highest-ranking angels their magic would permit.

—

Gazef alone with Ainz, Karna and Laeticia was all gather in a large storage house in the village. From the window Gazef peeked out see that indeed they had been surrounded by robed mages with strange flying creature beside them.

He could see three people within his field of vision. They were slowly advancing on the village while maintaining an even separation from each other.

They were unarmed and were not wearing heavy armor. However, that did not mean that they were pushovers. Many magic casters disliked such equipment and preferred lighter gear. This suggested that they were magic casters.

However, it was the winged monsters floating beside them which confirmed their vocations.

From the way they were behaving, Gazef can only guess that those creatures were summoned creature, they appear as a shining white robotic knight in armor. Its back is attached with yellow inthuryal wings, and a halo glows behind its head. It also wields a sword made of flames.

These were ArchAngels flame.

Angels were monsters summoned from another world, and many people — particularly, the citizens of the Slaine Theocracy — believed them to be messengers of the gods. However, the priests of the Kingdom ruled that these so-called angels were merely summoned monsters.

While these religious disputes were part of the reason why the countries were set against each other, Gazef felt that their status as divine messengers was secondary to their strength as monsters.

To Gazef, angels and demons, their similarly-ranked counterparts, were stronger than many other monsters summoned using magic of a similar tier. Most of them had special abilities and some could even use magic. They were troublesome foes, in his reckoning.

Of course, that depended on the individual angel. Not all of them were difficult to beat.

However, the angels this time round, with their shining breastplates and flaming swords, were of a type that was unknown to him.

Ainz was watching them with him from the side. He asked Gazef, who did not know anything and could not gauge their strength:

"Who are these people? What do they want? I don't think there should be anything that valuable in this village..."

"Sir Ainz, you do not know either? ...Well, if it is not wealth they seek, then there can only be one other answer."

Sieg and Gazef locked eyes.

"They must really hate you, Chief Warrior." Sieg said with cross arms.

"It comes with the job of Chief Warrior, however… this is troubling. Judging by the way the other side has so many people who can summon angels, they must be from the Slaine Theocracy… and it's clear that the people carrying out this operation must be a special operations unit… the legendary Six Scriptures. It would seem that both in numbers or ability, the opposition is superior to us."

Gazef shrugged, indicating the difficulty he was in. He might have seemed merely depressed on the surface, but inside, he was seething with anger and panic.

"Well, they've certainly gone to a lot of trouble, using the Noble faction to strip me of my gear. However, it's troublesome for that snake of a man to remain in the courts, so I guess it should be my good fortune to be able to recognize his villainy here. Still, I didn't think that the Slaine Theocracy would have their eyes on me, but it wasn't unexpected"

He snorted.

He did not have enough men, he was under-equipped for a battle like this, and he had no plan in mind. In short, he had nothing. Although, there might still be a trump card he could use.

Laeticia was looking intently at the summons '...Is that an Archangel Flame? It looks similar enough, but… what is a monster like that doing here… could it have been summoned by magic too? That means…'

Gazef turned to look at the mumbling Ainz. With a hopeful look on his face, he asked:

"Sir Ainz and Sir Sieg, if it is alright with you, would you be willing to let me hire you?"

There was no answer, but Gazef could feel the weight of Karna and Ainz's gaze.

"You may name your price and I will meet it."

"...Please permit me to refuse." Sieg cut in.

'Huh? Why would you refuse him, we can gain a useful ally, through helping him he owes us and not to mention he is the royal head warrior of this kingdom so it probably safe to say he has some influence here' Jeanne said.

'That would be useful but think about the information we can gain from capturing a special unit of another country and besides he won't just tell or leak info just because he owes us something' Momonga explain 'furthermore the noble of this kingdom sold him out so It troublesome to do or make use of him without raising the noble suspicion'

'That one reason and another is that we can test our power here by fighting a special force who are considered pretty strong from what gazef said' Karna further explain.

"...Even the loan of that knight you summoned would be fine." Gazef prossised.

"...I must refuse that as well."

"I see… then, what if I conscripted you, in accordance with the Kingdom's laws?"

"That would be the worst decision you could make… I did not plan to say such harsh words, but if you insist on using the authority of the Kingdom to conscript us, then I would be compelled to put up a bit of resistance." Sieg took a step forward.

The two of them looked wordlessly at each other. The first to avert his eyes was Gazef.

"...That would be frightening indeed. We would be wiped out before even crossing blades with the gentlemen of the Slaine Theocracy."

"Wiped out… well, that's a good joke. However, I am glad you understand me."

Gazef narrowed his eyes and looked at Sieg, whose head was nodded in thanks.

His words just now were not a joke, Gazef's instincts told him. Making an enemy of these people would be a fatal error.

In the face of this life-threatening danger, his instincts were more reliable than his meager intellect.

'Who are they and where did they come from?'

As Gazef thought, he looked at Ainz's strange mask. What did he look like under the mask? Was he someone that he knew? Or…

"What's wrong? Is there something on my mask?"

"Ah, no. I simply felt that mask was very special. Since that mask is used to control that monster… then it must be a very powerful magic item… am I correct?"

"Well, about that… I should say that it's a very rare and valuable item. One could even say that it was exclusive."

Possessing a potent magic item implied that the possessor was a skilled individual. By that logic, Ainz must have been a very talented magic caster. Gazef felt a little saddened for not being able to secure his aid.

Although, part of him hoped that as an adventurer, Ainz would accept that request.

"...I see that it's meaningless to keep going on about this. Then, sir Sieg and Sir Ainz, And you a swell my lady, please take care of yourself. Once again, thank you for saving this village."

Gazef removed his metal gauntlet and shook Ainz's hand. Originally, Ainz was thinking of removing his own Jarngreipr to return the courtesy, but in the end, he did not do so. Still, Gazef paid it no heed. He gripped Ainz's hand tightly, and said:

"I am truly, truly grateful to you for protecting these innocent villagers from being slaughtered. Also… I know it is very selfish of me and I have no authority to make you do anything… but I hope you can protect the villagers here, just one more time. Right now, I have nothing to give you, but I hope that no matter what, you will heed my plea… I beg you."

"About that…"

"If you should ever visit the Royal Capital, I will give you anything you desire. I swear this on the name of Gazef Stronoff."

Gazef let go of Ainz's hand, making to kneel, but Laeticia walked forward and extended her hand to stop him.

"...There is no need to go that far… you have my word, I shall protect this villagers. I swear on my name." Laeticia gave a beautiful smile.

After hearing Laeticia swear on her name, Gazef breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much, my lady. Now I have nothing more to worry about. All I need to do now is charge boldly ahead."

"...Before that, please take this with you."

Ainz took out an item and handed it to the smiling Gazef. It was a small, strangely carved statuette. There did not seem to be anything special about it. However—

"If it is a gift from your good self, I will gladly accept it. Then, sir Ainz. Time grows short, but I must now leave."

"...Will you not you wait until nightfall before setting out?" Siegel's asked.

"The opposition should have spells like 「Darkvision」 and the like, so night fighting is not to our advantage, but I cannot imagine they will be hampered by it. Also… we also need to let you see how we stand or fall."

"I see. As expected of the Kingdom's Chief Warrior, your keen insight is truly worthy of praise. Then, I wish you all the best, Chief Warriors."

"And I wish you a safe journey home."

Ainz quietly watched Gazef's back shrinking into the distance as he rode off. Although her master seemed to be thinking about something, Albedo did not inquire further.

"...Haa… when I first saw the humans here, I could not help but think of them as insects… but after speaking with them, I have come to be fond of them, like small child among helpless animals."

"Is that why you swore on you and lady Jeanne swore your glorious names to protect them?"

"Perhaps… no, I should say that it was in response to how he bravely rode to his death..." Laeticia explained.

Jeanne admired it.

He admired Gazef's determination, his strength of will that he did not have.

"...Albedo, order the servants to search out the ambushers around us and knock them out once they are found."

"I will do so at once… my lord, the Village Chief and the others are here."

As the three Supreme Beings turned to look at Albedo, he caught sight of the Chief and two other villagers coming over.

They reached Ainz's side, panting heavily. Filled with tension and unease, the Chief spoke immediately, as though breathing were a luxury he could not afford.

"Lord Ainz, Lord Sieg, Lady Laeticia, what should we do? Why did the Chief Warrior leave us behind and not protect us?"

The Chief's words were filled with fear, but there was an undercurrent of anger there as well.

"...He is doing what he must do, Chief… The foe has their eye on the Chief Warrior, and if he stayed here, the village would become a battlefield. The enemy will not let you flee either. He left this place for your sake."

"I see, so that was why the Chief Warrior left… Then, then should we remain here?"

"Of course not. They will come to kill you after they are done with the Chief Warrior. As long as you remain within their encirclement, you will have nowhere to run. However… while the foe is dealing with the Chief Warrior, you will have a chance to flee. You should take it."

So that was why the Chief Warrior rode out in force with his men. He planned to use himself as bait and lure the enemy away with a head-on attack.

The Chief red-facedly lowered his head as he heard about the Chief Warrior's slim chances. The man was riding to his death just to give them a chance to flee. He cursed his inability to understand the man's sacrifice, and how he mistook Gazef's courage for selfishness and maligned him for it.

"I can't believe I jumped to conclusions and wrongly blamed a good man… then, Lord Sieg, what should we do now?"

"What do you mean by that?" Sieg ask.

"We live near the forest, but there's no guarantee that we won't be attacked by monsters. We were just lucky and thought that this place was safe, so we gave no thought to self-defense, and in the end, not only did we lose our friends and loved ones, but even became a burden…"

Now it was not just the Chief, but the villagers behind him who had looks of regret on their faces.

"That could not be helped either. Your attackers were professional soldiers. If you had tried to resist, you might have all been dead before I got here." Sieg said

Sieg was trying to comfort the villagers, but none of them felt comforted at all. The fact was that no matter what pretty words he said, the loss of the villagers was an undeniable tragedy. All they could hope for was for time to heal their wounds.

"Village Chief, there is no more time. You must move quickly so as not to waste the Chief Warrior determination." Laeticia said.

"I see… then, Lady Laeticia, what will you do?"

"...we will stay here and observe the situation, and then wait for a good time to escort you all away." Laeticia gave them a reassuring smile that gave hope to the hopeless villager.

"We are always making trouble for you, my Lady, really, we…"

"...Think nothing of it. Because I made a promise to the Chief Warrior, in any case, gather all the villagers into one of the larger houses. I will further protect it with magic." Laeticia command.

—

He could feel his horse's agitation through his feet.

Even a trained warhorse — no, it was because it was a warhorse that the beast knew it was riding into death.

There were only four or five of the enemy surrounding the village, so there was a large gap between each of them. However, their encirclement was most likely airtight.

In other words, they had set a trap for him, and if he sprang it, he would die.

Even so, Gazef was still determined to break through them. No, going by the present circumstances, a forceful breakthrough was the only choice for him.

He had no chance against them in ranged combat.

If he had skilled archers by his side, it would be a different matter. If not, he had to avoid a long-range battle with magic casters.

Fighting a defensive battle would be even more stupid.

It would be one thing if they had stone-walled houses or a sturdy fort to fight from, but he had no confidence at all in the ability of wooden walls to stop magic. For all he knew, both Gazef and the houses might go up in smoke together.

Therefore, the last tactic he could use was a thoroughly unethical one.

That is to say, he would have to shift the theater of battle into the village and draw Ainz, Sieg and Laeticia into the fight, thus forcing his involvement.

But if he did that, it would completely defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place. Therefore, Gazef had to put himself into danger.

"Hit the enemy hard and draw in the sentries from around the village. After that, fall back immediately. Do not hesitate and miss your chance to flee."

After hearing the energetic replies from behind him, Gazef frowned.

How many of the men here would be able to go back alive?

They were not any more talented than ordinary people. Nor were they born with superpowers or special talents. They were just a group of men who had trained hard under Gazef. Losing the fruits of his labor here would be a terrible waste.

Gazef was going to make a stupid, senseless sacrifice, and his men were going to follow him into it. He wanted to apologize to these men, that he had drawn in with him, but once he turned around and saw them, those words died in his mouth.

What he saw were the faces of true warriors, fearless men who knew where they were headed and who had swallowed any complaints about the matter..

There was no need to apologize for the looks on his men's faces, that look which said that they knew they were riding into danger, but they would go into it regardless. One by one, the men shouted to the embarrassed Gazef:

"Don't worry, Chief Warrior!"

"Yeah, we all came here of our own free will, to fight and die by your side, Chief Warrior!"

"Please let us protect our country, our people, and our friends!"

There was nothing left to say. Gazef returned their shouts with a thunderous cry:

"Then, forward! Tear their guts out!"

"YEAHHHHH!"

Gazef's men spurred their horses forward to follow their leader. The galloping horses shot across the plains like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Still mounted, Gazef drew his bow and nocked an arrow to the string.

Though his horse shook and shuddered beneath him, Gazef calmly drew the string back. The loosed arrow struck its target unerringly, piercing the head of the frontmost magic caster… or at least, that was what he thought would happen.

"Cheh! It was useless after all. Maybe if I had a magic arrow, but… ah, I don't have what I don't have. Griping about it here is pointless."

The arrow bounced off like it had struck a sturdy helmet. That supernatural hardness must have been the work of magic. Just as Gazef had said, in order to shoot through magic that protected against ranged attacks, he would need a magic weapon of his own.

Since Gazef did not have a weapon like that, he stopped shooting and put away his bow.

The magic casters began their counterattack, and cast their spells.

Gazef focused his energies, and took a stance in order to resist their magic.

Just then, the horse between his legs whinnied loudly and reared up, its front legs kicking the air.

"Go! Go! Go!"

He tightly gripped his reins and leaned forward, practically hugging the horse. Fortunately, his swift reflexes kept Gazef from being thrown off. While it had caused a sheen of cold sweat to bloom all over his body, at the very least, he had managed to suppress his brief panic. There was something more important before him.

A flustered and panting Gazef lashed his mount's flanks, but the horse remained still, as though someone more important than its rider were giving it orders.

This strange phenomenon could only mean one thing.

Mind-controlling magic.

The horse had been affected by such a spell. Gazef might have been able to fight off its effects, but the affected party was not a magical beast, but a mere warhorse, so resistance was not to be expected.

Anger flared up in Gazef for not predicting such an obvious form of attack. He leapt off his horse, and his galloping subordinates guided their mounts around him, flowing past him on both sides.

"Chief Warrior!"

The last men of the group slowed down, extending their hands. They wanted to help Gazef onto their horse, but the angel looking down upon them from the heavens swooped down faster. Gazef drew his sword and swung at the angel.

The steel blade became a swift flash of light.

The stroke of the Kingdom's strongest man was enough to cleave a man's body in two. But the angel was not a man, and although it had taken a grave wound to its torso, it was not slain yet.

The blood spraying into the air was the mana that composed the angel. It vanished like smoke.

"No need for that! Turn around and charge them!"

After Gazef gave his orders, he turned a keen glare at the angel which had escaped with its life. It had been badly hurt, but it was still trying to find holes in Gazef's defenses.

"So that's how it is."

A strange feeling ran up his arms when his blade found its mark.

Gazef knew what it was. These monsters had a skill that would greatly reduce any damage done to them unless the attacking weapon was made of a special material. It was thanks to this ability that the angel could take a blow from Gazef without falling.

If that was the case...

Gazef focused his energies within himself and activated the martial art 「Focus Battle Aura」, and his blade glowed with a crimson light.

The angel took this opportunity to cut in with a sword of red flame. However—

"—Too slow."

In the eyes of the Kingdom's strongest warrior, Gazef Stronoff, the angel's movements were truly too slow.

Gazef's sword moved.

This blow was far more powerful than the one before it, and Gazef's sword sheared neatly through the angel's body.

Its body destroyed, the Angel seemed to melt in mid-air, its glittering wings flapping a few times before vanishing as though it had been nothing more than an illusion.

If Gazef had not been in such dire straits, he might well have applauded the light show. However, he did not have the time for that at the moment.

Gazef looked around, saw the enemies advancing on him in an endless tide — and smiled.

More angels flashed into existence around them as well.

Gazef was well aware that they were not ordinary reinforcements.

"...So, anything goes with magic, huh? Damn."

As he cursed the magic casters who could easily do what warriors could not, Gazef calmly took stock of the enemies surrounding him, and confirmed that this was everyone who was surrounding the village.

That would mean that the encirclement of the village was lifted.

"Then, Gown-dono, the rest is up to you."

The knowledge that he could save the surviving villagers filled Gazef's heart with endless joy. He smiled at the enemy's carelessness.

And then, the sound of hoofbeats filtered into Gazef's ears. It was the sound of Gazef's subordinates, charging back into the battle.

"I told you to scatter once the blockade went down… truly, you're a bunch of fools… and truly, I'm proud of you."

Gazef sprinted forward.

This might well be the best and only chance to end the battle. Judging by the speed of the horsemen, the enemy magic casters would need to focus all their attention on them. He would take advantage of this opportunity to cause chaos in their ranks. That was the only way.

His men's horses whinnied and reared up, just like Gazef's horse did. Several people moaned in pain as they were thrown off their horses, and the angels took the chance to press the attack.

Although his subordinates were on par with the angels in terms of fighting power, the latter had special abilities with the former did not possess, and Gazef's men were soon plunged into dire straits. As he had expected, more than half of his men were fighting desperately for their lives. The spells of the magic casters only made things that much worse for them.

His men fell to the ground, one after the other.

Gazef averted his eyes, and ran forward again.

His target was the enemy commander.

He did not think the enemy would retreat if their commander went down, but that was the only way to save everyone.

Over thirty angels put themselves in Gazef's way as he charged. He frowned as he saw the heavy defenses ahead of him.

"Out of my way—"

Gazef activated his trump card.

Heat bloomed from his hands, and spread to envelop his entire body.

Gazef broke the limits of his physical body and stepped into the realm of heroes. In addition, he activated several martial arts at once — one could call those a warrior's magic.

Gazef glared at the six angels surrounding him.

"「Sixfold Slash of Light」!"

This was a martial art that struck as fast as light. In one move, he hit the six angels around him.

All six of them were cut in half, dissolving into motes of light.

The reinforcements from the Slaine Theocracy gasped in surprise, while Gazef's men cheered.

Although his ultimate attack made his arms cramp up, it was not enough to decrease his fighting effectiveness.

Then, as though ordered to drown out the cheers, a huge wave of angels swept in, and one of them lunged at Gazef with its flaming sword.

"「Instant Counter」!"

Gazef used his martial art just as the angel swung, and his body blurred away like mist.

Halfway through its attack, the angel took a hit from Gazef. That hit reduced it to glittering dust.

But Gazef's offensive did not end there.

"「Flow Acceleration」!"

With fluid, graceful moves, he dispatched the angels one after the other.

His ultimate attack took down two more angels again. This splendid display of martial technique inspired Gazef's men and gave them a ray of hope.

But the Theocracy's troops would not allow that to happen, and their commander erased that hope with mockery.

"Well done. However… that is all you can do. Clerics who have lost your angels, summon new ones. Focus your spells on Stronoff!"

The heat which had been building in the air immediately cooled off.

"This is bad."

Gazef took down another angel as he muttered to himself. It would seem there would not be any more cheering no matter how many angels Gazef slew, since his men were worrying about the enemy coming at them.

They were superior in numbers, equipment, training, and individual ability.

The sole weapon of Gazef's beleaguered men — their hope for victory — was gone.

After unconsciously avoiding an incoming sword, Gazef counterattacked, and destroyed an angel in one hit. However, the enemy he was aiming for was still far away.

Although his subordinates hoped otherwise, they needed magic weapons to break through the angels' damage reduction. They did not know how to use the 「Focus Battle Aura」 martial art like Gazef could, and without magic weapons, even if Gazef's men could injure the angels, they could not finish them off.

They were at their wit's end.

Gazef bit his lip, and continued slashing.

His record for the most consecutive uses of his ultimate attack, 「Sixfold Slash of Light」, was rapidly increasing.

A warrior like Gazef could use six different kinds of martial arts at once, and combined with his hidden ultimate attack, that made seven martial arts at once.

Until now, he had been using martial arts to improve his physical attributes, fortify his mind, improve his magic resistance, temporarily render his weapon magical, as well as another technique that he used on hitting an opponent. That made five martial arts.

The reason why he had not pushed himself to the limit and used all seven at once was because powerful martial arts depleted one's concentration.

In particular, the 「Sixfold Slash of Light」 required three times the focus of his other techniques.

Gazef had two ultimate attacks like this, but he could only use them with four other martial arts at the same time.

He could easily defeat an angel with those techniques. But even if he struck them down, more of them were summoned anew. As long as he did not defeat their Summoners, they would call up more angels to face him. While trying to run the opposition out of mana was an option, Gazef would probably tire before that.

The truth was, Gazef's arms were growing heavier and heavier, and his heart was racing.

「Instant Counter」 was a martial art that forcibly corrected the body's balance after making an attack, resetting it to before the blow was struck. While that meant that the practitioner could immediately attack again, the forced reset of the body would place immense strain on it.

「Flow Acceleration」 was a martial art that increased the speed at which one's nerves functioned, increasing one's attack rate. However, that technique created fatigue in the brain.

And then, there was the ultimate attack, the 「Sixfold Slash of Light」.

Using them put a great burden on the body, but without them, he would have no chance at all.

"Bring them all on! Your angels are nothing!"

His fearsome shout startled the Theocracy troops, but they soon recovered and renewed the offensive on Gazef.

"Pay him no heed, that's just the roar of a caged beast. Don't worry, deplete his strength bit by bit. But don't get too close. That beast's claws are long and sharp."

Gazef glared at the man with a scar on his face.

If only he could defeat him, he could turn the battle around. The problem was the other angel near him, different from the ones with the flaming swords. And then there was the great distance between them, and the several layers of defenses in the way.

They were simply too far apart.

"The beast is about to make a break for it. Show him the meaning of the word 'impossible.'"

The man's calm voice only served to aggravate Gazef further.

Even if he stepped into the realm of heroes, Gazef could not win with his refined melee techniques alone.

Still — so what? If that was the only road available to him, then he would have to charge down it with all his might.

As the strength returned to his eyes, Gazef began his charge.

However, the road ahead was hard, like he had expected.

The angels loomed before him, one after the after, swinging their swords of scorching red flame. As he evaded and counterattacked and destroyed the angels one after the other, Gazef suddenly felt an intense pain. It felt like he had been struck hard in the belly.

As he looked in the direction of the pain, he saw a group of magic casters casting a spell of some sort.

"Well, if you're priests, you should act like it. How about a little healing over here!?"

As though to answer Gazef's jibe, an invisible force smashed into Gazef's body.

Though the enemy used invisible attacks, Gazef was confident that he could avoid them by reading traces in the air and the looks on his opponent's faces. That might even have worked, if there were only a few of them. However, against thirty of those attacks, there was nothing he could do. Just keeping his sword in his hands was taking all his strength.

The pain filled his whole body. He had no idea where it was coming from, only that it was so great it almost made him collapse.

"Gahaah!"

The taste of steel welled up in his throat, and Gazef spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The sticky ichor welled out of his mouth and stained his chin.

Gazef's legs were shaky after that barrage of invisible blows, and now an angel was swinging its flaming sword at him.

He could not avoid the blow, and it struck his armor. Fortunately, it deflected the sword, but the impact travelled through the breastplate and deep into his body.

He swung wildly at the angel, but his poor balance meant that the angel easily evaded the attack.

Gazef's sword trembled in his hands as he gasped for breath.

The fatigue that filled his body seemed to be whispering into his ear, telling him to just lie down and rest.

"The hunt has entered its final stages. Do not let the beast rest — order your angels to attack consecutively."

Even though Gazef desperately wanted a moment to recover, the angels surrounding him obeyed their masters and mercilessly attacked him, one after the other.

He somehow evaded the attack from behind, and parried a thrust from the side. He used the strong angles of his armor to deflect an angel's charge from above.

Gazef wanted to counterattack his foes, but he was greatly outnumbered.

As his strength diminished, he could only take out one opponent at a time, since he lacked the stamina to use martial arts. As his subordinates fell one by one, the enemy's attacks were concentrated on him. With no way to break through the enemy's encirclement, he felt death closing in on him.

His concentration faltered, and he nearly fell to one knee. He desperately tried to refocus so he could fight.

The invisible impacts came again, striking the tottering Gazef.

The world before him shook mightily.

Not good!

Gazef used all his strength to try and maintain his balance. However, something seemed wrong with his body, and the strength that should have held him up was nowhere to be found.

The itch of touching the grass spread through his body, and Gazef realised that he had fallen.

He struggled to rise again, but his body betrayed him. The angels' swords meant death for him.

"Now, finish him off, but do not send in one angel. Use them all to ensure he is dead."

Yes, he was dead.

His well-trained hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he could not pick up his longsword. Even so, he could not give up.

His gritted teeth made creaking sounds.

Gazef was not afraid of death. He had taken many lives in the past, so he was prepared to meet his end on the battlefield.

Like he had told Ainz, he was hated by people. That hatred became a sword that would one day pierce his body.

But he could not accept an end like this.

They had attacked several villages and murdered defenseless, innocent villagers, all to lure Gazef into a trap. He could not allow himself to die at the hands of honorless dogs like this, and he could not bear his powerlessness.

"Gaaaaaaah! Don't look down on me—!"

He shouted with all the strength in his body.

Blood dribbled out the side of his mouth as Gazef rose to his feet.

A man who should have been powerless to stand now stood proudly, the mighty force of his presence forcing back the angels that surrounded him.

"Haaa—! Haaa—!"

Just getting to his feet had him panting heavily. His mind was a blur and his body felt like it had turned to mud. But he could not lie down. If he lay down, all would be lost.

This little bit of pain he felt could not compare to the suffering of the dead villagers.

"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom! I am a man who loves and defends his country! How can I lose to bastards like you who stain my country with your footsteps—!?"

He was certain that great man would protect the villagers.

Then, what he should do was defeat as many of the enemy as he could, so the people would not meet the same fate as all the others.

Protecting the future people of the Kingdom. That was all he wanted to do.

"...You will die here because all you can do is babble that nonsense, Gazef Stronoff."

Gazef glared at the enemy commander as his cruel mockery reached his ears.

"If only you had abandoned these villagers on the border, you would not be dying here. You probably don't know, but your life is far more valuable than even a thousand of these peasants. If you truly love your country, you should have abandoned them to die."

"You and I… will never see eye to eye… let's go!"

"What can that body of yours do? Cease your pointless struggles and lie down quietly. As a final act of mercy, I will kill you without drawing out your suffering."

"If you think… I'm helpless… then why don't you come... take my head? It should be easy… if I'm like this, right?"

"...Hmph. You're all talk. It looks like you still want to fight. Do you think you can win?"

Gazef simply stared straight ahead, his hands trembling as he gripped his sword. He focused on the enemy in front of him, ignoring the angels surrounding him.

"...What a pointless effort. Truly, you are an idiot. After we kill you, we will then massacre the villagers you saved. All you have done is bought them a fear filled stay of execution."

"Heh…heehh...heeh"

Gazef was smiling brightly.

"...What's so funny?"

"...Hmph, you fool. In that village… is a man who is stronger than me. His power is unfathomable, but he could take you all out by himself… Trying to kill… the villagers he protects… is impossible for you."

"...Someone stronger than the Kingdom's greatest warrior? Do you think boasting like that will do you any good? You truly are an idiot."

Gazef was still smiling. What kind of look would Nigun have on his face when he met that inscrutable people that was Sieg, Ainz and Laeticia? Seeing that would probably be the best gift Gazef could receive before heading off to the afterlife.

"...Angels, kill Gazef Stronoff."

Countless wings moved in response to that cold, cruel order.

Gazef steeled himself, preparing to run forward, when suddenly a voice came past him:

—Looks like it's about time to switch.

In an instant the scenery before Gazef changed, and he was no longer on that bloodsoaked plain. Instead, he was in the corner of what looked like a simple village hut.

There were worried-looking villagers all around him.

"This, this is..."

"This is a warehouse that lady Laeticia has protected with her magic."

"So you're the Chief Villager, sir Ainz or sir Sieg does not seem to be here and wear is lady Laeticia?"

"No, he was here just a moment ago, but he seems to have vanished without a trace, and in his place, you appeared, Chief Warrior."

I see, so the voice in my head was...

Gazef allowed himself to relax. He would have no part to play in what would come next. Gazef collapsed to the ground, and the villagers hurriedly drew closer.

The Six Scriptures. They were an enemy that even Gazef Stronoff, the strongest warrior in the region, could not hope to defeat.

Yet, he could not even begin to imagine that Ainz would lose.

—

There was no trace of the intense battle that had taken place earlier on the plains.

The light of the setting sun covered up the blood staining the grass, and the stench of blood was blown away by the wind.

There were two figures on the plains who had not originally been there.

Nigun of the Slaine Theocracy's special operations unit — the Sunlight Scripture — looked at them with perturbation in his eyes.

One of them was dressed like an arcane magic caster. He wore an evil-looking mask to hide his face, and a pair of iron gauntlets on his hands. He wore a expensive-looking black robe, suggesting he was a person of some status.

The other was a lean and tall white haired man who wears a golden armor and red tatter caped. He wield a lance of pure shining gold that resemble a sun at it end. The gears that he wore left Nìgun puzzle, he could not comprehend the power that was radiating off those gears.

Beside him was the most beautiful woman he had ever layer eyes on, she wore shelves armor of the highest quality he'd had ever seen. With gold hair and pure amethyst eyes that gleams and shine as the sunset on the horizon. Her beauty left him and his men speechless and the setting sun was just adding to her holy glow, making her more beautiful.

He quickly shook his head and focused.

The other one was dressed in a suit of jet-black full plate armor. It looked very impressive, and it was certainly some sort of masterwork magic item. One look at the exterior was enough to tell that it was a high-end magic item.

The beleaguered Gazef and his men were gone without a trace. In their place were these two mysterious individuals. It seemed to be some kind of teleportation magic, but he had no idea what kind of spell had been used here. He had to be wary of the mysterious magic caster.

Nigun called the angels back, ordering them to form a defensive perimeter on their side. His assiduous gaze studied their movements, and then the magic caster stepped forward:

"Pleased to meet you, gentlemen of the Slaine Theocracy. I am Ainz Ooal Gown. but please call me Ainz."

He was some distance away from them, but the wind carried his voice over clearly.

Nigun did not respond, and thus the mysterious man called Ainz continued:

"The person behind me is called Albedo and to my side are my friends Sieg and Leticia, I would like to make a deal with you if I could. Might I have a moment of your time?"

Nigun tried to attach some meaning to the name Ainz Ooal Gown, but it was no use. It might be an alias. Perhaps trying to glean some information from him would be more productive. With that, Nigun raised his chin, indicating that Ainz should continue.

"Wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me. Then, I would like to start by making one thing clear to you gentlemen. That would be — there is no way you can defeat me."

He could hear the absolute confidence in that statement. This was not a bluff or a boast. This was something that the man Ainz Ooal Gown believed from the bottom of his heart.

Nigun furrowed his brows.

In the Slaine Theocracy, nobody would dare speak in such a way to their betters.

"Ignorance is truly deplorable. You will pay the price for your foolishness."

"...Really now. Do you really think that will happen? I observed your battle earlier, so my presence here would indicate that I am confident of victory. After all, if I was not sure that I could beat you, would it not be wiser for me to leave that man to die?" Sieg said with an arrogant smile as he stepped in front of Ainz.

Though nigun did want to admit it, this man was right.

An arcane magic caster would be better suited to different kinds of confrontations. Arcaners, sorcerers, and wizards could only use light armor, so they would want to avoid melee combat, using 「Fly」 to repeatedly launch 「Fireballs」 and other such spells from afar. Yet Ainz had chosen to face them head-on. He must have a trick up his sleeve.

After a period of silence, Sieg spoke "I have a question for you, if you can understand it. The angels you have brought with you should have been summoned by third tier magic. Am I correct?"

He was stating the obvious.

Sieg went on, ignoring Nigun's puzzled expression.

"The monsters you summoned are similar to those in YGGDRASIL, so I was curious as to whether the names were the same. Many of YGGDRASIL's monsters were derived from mythology… monsters like angels or demons should be no exception. Said angels and demons are most commonly associated with Christianity, but it seems quite unnatural that something called an archangel exists in a world without Christianity. That would mean someone like myself must exist in this world."

Nigun had no idea what Sieg was talking about and his ire was rising. He asked "That's enough of your self-absorbed prattle. Now tell me; where is Stronoff?"

"I teleported him to the village."

"...What?"

Nigun had not expected Leticia to answer. He thought of why Leticia would say that and replied "How foolish. Even if you tell a lie like that, a quick search of the village will—"

"—It is not a lie. I merely answered your question. Well, there is another reason for why I answered your question."

"...Could it be that you want to beg for mercy? If you help us save some time, I can consider it" Nigun smile an evil smile and look at Leticia with lust "or maybe you can be a-" before he finish is sentence Sieg cuts in.

'I am going to kill you'

"Nonono… well… the truth is, I overheard your conversation with the Chief Warrior. You really have a lot of balls don't you."

Sieg calm tone changed suddenly, and he continued speaking as he looked at the mocking Nigun.

"To think you would dare say that you would massacre the villagers that I and my friends, took the time to personally rescue. I cannot think of anything that is more offensive than that."

Sieg cape rippled in the wind. That same wind blew across Nigun and company.

The cold wind just happened to be blowing from Sieg direction, but Nigun hurriedly brushed away the phantom image that loomed in front of him. Yes, that vision of death before him must have been an illusion.

"...What, what do you mean by "offensive", magic caster? What of it?"

Although he was obviously frightened, Nigun did not change his mocking tone.

He was the commander of one of the Slaine Theocracy's secret weapons, the Sunlight Scripture. How could he be afraid of a single man's name? It was impossible. It could not be possible.

Yet—

"I mentioned a deal earlier. These are the terms. You will hand your lives over to me without resistance. In exchange you will not have to suffer. However, if you put up a fight, then the price you fools shall pay is to die in despair and agony." Ainz joined the conversation.

Ainz took a step forward.

It was just a single step, but Ainz's body seemed to swell massively before their eyes. Cowed by him, the men of the Sunlight Scripture reflexively took a step back.

"Ahh…"

Several hoarse cries came from around Nigun.

They were cries of fear.

His presence was filled with unimaginable power. This was the first time Nigun had been faced with such might. Therefore, he could understand his men's fear.

Nigun was a powerful individual himself, a veteran of many battles who had grazed the edge of death countless times, who had taken many lives. He could feel the might radiating from the mysterious magic caster, an oppressive, potent pressure. It must have been worse for his men.

What kind of being are these people!?

What was the true identity of these magic casters? Who was the man beneath the mask?

Once more, Ainz ignored Nigun's panic and spoke coldly.

"That is why I did not lie to you and answered your question honestly. It is because there is no point in lying to those that are about to die."

Ainz spread his arms and took another step forward. He looked like he was about to hug them, but his evil-looking fingers reminded them of a lunging monster.

A thrill of cold ran from the bottoms of Nigun's feet to the top of his head. He had felt this countless times in his struggles along the edge of life and death. It was a sign of impending doom.

"Have the angels charge him! Don't let him get close!"

Nigun's voice broke slightly as he shouted his orders. It sounded more like a scream.

It was not to raise his men's spirits. He was simply afraid of Ainz Ooal Gown, Sieg and Leticia.

Three Archangel Flames flapped their wings in response to Nigun's command, launching an attack.

The angels flew straight up to Ainz, Sieg and Leticia and stabbed at them with their flaming swords.

Albedo, who was standing behind him, should have blocked that attack. And so all of the Sunlight Scripture, who had been predicting that course of action, could not believe their eyes. It was not that anything happened. On the contrary—

Nothing happened.

Indeed, the people on the opposite ends took no action. They simply allowed the angels to run them through. They did not dodge, block, cast a spell, or have his follower intercept it. Nothing happened.

Their shock became mockery.

That act, pretending to be some mighty figure, was nothing but a bluff. It was not that Albedo did not wish to block it, but that Albedo could not respond in time to the high-speed attack of the Archangel Flame. Now that the truth was out, they did not seem like anything special at all.

His men breathed sighs of relief. Nigun, who felt quite silly for being so afraid, turned to Albedo.

"How unsightly. To think he would try to scare us with a bluff…"

Suddenly, a question came to mind.

Why wasn't their corpse not falling?

"...What are you doing? Call back the angels. He can't fall down with those swords stuck in him."

"But, but we've already given the order."

His subordinates' confused voices startled Nigun, and he looked at Ainz, Sieg and Leticia again.

The angels were desperately flapping their wings, like butterflies caught in a spider's web.

The three angels slowly moved to the side. However, their movements were very strange. It looked as though someone was pushing them aside.

Following that, the body of Ainz — which had been blocked by the angels — appeared once more from the gap between them.

"...I told you, didn't I? There is no way you gentlemen can defeat me. Shouldn't you heed the warnings of others?"

The calm voice filtered into Nigun's ears.

He could not comprehend the sight before him.

He was stabbed through his chest and abdomen, but Ainz was still standing, as though nothing were wrong.

He looked to the others standing by Ainz side and saw the same thing.

"Impossible…" one of Nigun subordinates moaned, giving voice to the words in Nigun's heart.

Judging from the angle of the angels' swords, they had to be fatal wounds. Even so, these people did not seem to be in any pain.

That was not the only shocking thing.

Ainz, Sieg and Leticia was gripping each of the angels by the throat. The angels struggled against him, but they did not let them go.

"Impossible…t-this can't be possible..."

Someone was muttering to themselves. Angels summoned from magic had bodies created from their summoners' mana, so they were definitely not light. They weighed more than a grown man, and then there was the weight of their armor to consider as well. There was no way they could be lifted up by the throat so easily.

Granted, a well-trained warrior, with a stout and muscular body, might be able to do it. But the people before him, Ainz, Sieg and Leticia were magic caster who should have focused on training his intellect and arcane powers over honing his physique. Even if he were enhanced by magic, he would not be able to do anything if his base strength was low to begin with.

Then, why was this happening? Why did he seem completely unfazed, even after being impaled?

"...There must be some sort of trick."

"Ah, definitely, how could anyone be fine after being run through by a sword!?"

Panic and fear spread through the Slaine Theocracy's special forces unit. They were all veterans of numerous battles and had experienced many dangers in the past, but this was a sight they had never seen before. Not even the angels that Nigun could summon were capable of such a feat.

The doubtful mutterings about how he did not seem to be in pain and was speaking normally crept into Nigun's ears.

"High Tier Physical Nullification — a passive skill that negates the attacks of weapons with low data content and low tier monsters' attacks. It only protects against attacks of up to level sixty — in other words, attacks above level sixty can harm me. It is an all-or-nothing ability… to think it would actually see use here. Well then… these angels are in the way."

Holding an angel in one hand, the Supreme Beings slammed them both into the ground simultaneously. There was a thunderous crash, and the earth trembled from the impact — a testament to their supernatural strength.

The angels died instantly, reverting to countless dancing motes of light which vanished into the air. Of course, the swords stuck in Sieg, Ainz and Leticia vanished as well.

"If I learn how you named these angels, I can then understand how you can all use spells from YGGDRASIL. But let us leave this aside for now."

As Ainz slowly straightened up, he was still talking about things which nobody could understand.

However, that only intensified the Sunlight Scripture's fear of his mysterious power.

Nigun gulped.

"All right, we'll end these pointless games here. Are you satisfied? Since it looks like you aren't willing to accept the deal, then it shall be my turn." Sieg said with a dark tone that send a chill down the spine of the Theocracy soldiers.

Sieg opened those hands of his, those hands which had crushed an angels to death. He seemed to be showing them that he had nothing in them.

His voice carried clearly through the bone-chilling silence, into the ears of everyone present.

"Are you ready? —It'll be a **massacre**."

A sudden spike of cold pierced his spine, followed by a surge of nausea. Nigun, the hardened killer who had presided over many slaughters, was now feeling something that he had never felt before.

He had to run. He had no way of beating Ainz, so doing battle with him would be very dangerous.

However, Nigun struggled to shake that feeling away. He had cornered his prey Gazef — how could he watch him get away now?

Still, a warning resonated from the depths of his soul. Nigun shouted his order:

"All angels, attack! Hurry!"

Every one of the Archangel Flames shot toward Sieg like bullets.

"What a lively lot… guys step back."

Nigun could hear the cool, calm voice of someone who was being attacked by angels, but did not care. Sieg was surrounded by so many angels that nobody could even see him, yet still his voice did not carry even the slightest hint of worry.

It looked like he would be impaled by countless blades — no, Sieg spell took effect before that.

"**[MANA SUN-BURST]**."

The air shuddered.

A wave of red scorching flame erupted from Sieg, like the sun itself exploded before them. It only lasted for an instant, but it had an immediate and obvious effect.

"Im-Impossible…"

Someone muttered those words, carried by the wind. They could not believe what was happening before their eyes.

The angels, over forty of them, had been annihilated by the blazing flame.

Their opponent had not used dispel magic to neutralize the summons. The angels that were blown away by the black wave had taken damage. In other words, Sieg had used a powerful spell to wipe out all the angels in one fell swoop.

Nigun could not help but tremble. He recalled the words of the Kingdom's strongest warrior, Gazef Stronoff.

"...Hmph, you fool. In that village… is a man who is stronger than me. His power is unfathomable, but he could take you all out by himself… Trying to kill… the villagers he protects… is impossible for you."

The scene before him proved the truth of those words.

Nigun erased those words from his mind, trying desperately to bring himself over.

Nigun knew that the members of the strongest special ops group, the Black Scripture, could also eliminate this many angels. In other words, all he had to do was treat Ainz as an opponent on their level. While he might be as strong as a member of the Black Scripture, he had the advantage of numbers on his side, so victory was still possible.

However, could those members of the Black Scripture take care of all these angels with just one spell?

Nigun shook his head to clear away his doubts. He could not think of that question. If he got his answer, then he would truly be done for. Therefore Nigun reached inside his coat, and touched the item within to give himself courage.

He fervently believed that as long as he held it, everything would be fine.

However, his subordinates did not have the same source of moral support that he did.

"U-Uwaaaah!"

"What, what the hell!?"

"It's a monster!"

Once they realized their angels were useless, they wailed and fell back upon the spells that they knew and trusted.

"**「****Charm Person****」****, ****「****Iron Hammer of Righteousness****」****, ****「****Hold****」****, ****「****Fire Rain****」****, ****「****Emerald Sarcophagus****」****, ****「****Holy Ray****」****, ****「****Shockwave****」****, ****「****Confusion****」****, ****「****Charge of Stalagmite]****」 「****Open Wounds****」****, ****「****Poison****」****, ****「****Fear****」****, ****「****Word of Curse****」****, ****「****Blindness****」****..."**

All kinds of spells rained down on Sieg.

Yet, even as the storm of magic lashed against him, Sieg was unmoved.

"Well, all of these are familiar spells… who taught them to you? The Slaine Theocracy? Someone else? There are more and more things I want to ask you now."

Not only could he slaughtered all their summoned angels in one move, their spells were also incapable of harming him.

Nigun felt like he was trapped in a nightmare.

"Hyaaaaah—!"

One of the men screamed wildly as he saw that his spells were ineffective. In desperation, he pulled out a sling and loaded it with a bullet. Although Nigun doubted the effectiveness of such a projectile when even an angel's sword was useless, he did not stop the man.

The bullet that could easily shatter bone sped toward Sieg.

It was followed by a sound. That sound was like an explosion.

An instant.

It had happened in an instant.

Since they were in battle, they could not take their eyes off their target. However, Albedo — who should have been behind the three — had moved in a mysterious way in front of Sieg to defend him. The source of the apparent explosion was because she had violently kicked off the ground to get to where she was.

With a speed that the eye could not even see, Albedo swung her bardiche, tracing a beautiful curve of the weapon's sickly green light in the air.

After that, the man with the sling slowly collapsed to the ground.

"...Huh?"

Nobody knew what had happened. They were the ones who had launched the attack, yet the result was completely opposite — one of them had fallen instead.

One of the men went over to inspect his dead comrade, and he shouted.

"His, his head's been smashed in!"

"...What? Smashed… don't tell me it's the sling bullet he threw!"

Why had he been killed by his own projectile?

Just then, the wind carried a voice into the puzzled Nigun's ears.

"My apologies, It would seem my subordinate used a combination of the Missile Parry and Counter Arrow skills to return your projectile to your man. I believe you have some sort of magic which defends against ranged attacks on your persons. That would mean an attack that is stronger than the defense will break through it, no? It's hardly worth panicking about."

After his explanation, Ainz paid no attention to Nigun, and turned to Albedo.

"Although, Albedo, you should know that ranged weapons like that will not be able to harm him. There was no need to—"

"—Please wait, Lord Ainz. Anyone who wishes to do battle with a Supreme Being must have a certain degree of strength. A sling bullet like that was nothing more than an insult to lord Sieg, these men are pebble fighting a mountains!"

"Haha, so, that means Nigun and his lackeys fail the test, then?"

"Ngk! Puh! Principality of Observation! Get him!"

In response to Nigun's orders, the angel that had been standing by up till now suddenly spread its wings and flapped, propelling itself forward.

The Principality of Observation was an angel in full body armor. It held a mace in one hand and a round shield in the other. A garment that looked like a long skirt covered its legs.

The Principality of Observation was stronger than the Archangel Flames, but it had not been deployed into battle until now because of its special skill. In accordance with its name, the Principality of Observation had the ability to raise the defense of all its allies. However, this ability lost its effect once the angel moved, so the wise decision would be to order the Principality of Observation to hold its ground.

The fact that Nigun had ordered it to attack was a sign that he was grasping at straws. He had to clutch at anything which might turn out to be a lifeline, even if it ended up being chaff.

"Thank you Albedo, but it time for you to fall back." Laeticia command as she walked forward.

As ordered, the angel drew up in front of Sieg, but was now black by Laeticia. The angel raised its shining mace. Laeticia nonchalantly reached out her gauntleted left hand to meet the attack.

While it would not have been surprising for that strike to shatter bone, Laeticia hand was fine. She casually took the subsequent hits as they came.

"Good grief… I guess it's my turn now **[HOLY FLAME]**."

A small, wobbling mote of golden flame emerged from one of the fingers of Laeticia right hand. It looked so feeble that anyone could blow it out if they wanted. It touched the body of the Principality of Observation, and looked terribly laughable against the glittering body of the angel.

But then—

The Principality of Observation was consumed by a gold fire, so intense that even Nigun, a good distance away, could feel the heat. He could barely keep his eyes open.

The angel's body melted and vanished amidst the sky-scorching golden flames, without so much as a chance to resist. The flames that devoured the angel vanished with their target.

No traces were left behind. The previous scene — that of the angel's attack and the black conflagration — felt like they had been illusions, like they had never happened.

"How, how could this be."

"In just one hit…"

"Hiiiiiiii!"

"Im-Im-Impossible!" Nigun shouted amidst his confusion.

He did not even know he was shouting. He was simply converting his thoughts into words. It did not feel like shouting to him.

The Principality of Observation was a high tier angel whose offensive and defensive strength was in a 3:7 ratio. It boasted the strongest defense of all other angels in its tier.

In addition, Nigun's natural-born talent, 「Enhance Summoned Monster」, could improve the stats of any monster Nigun summoned. As a result, there were very few people who could defeat a Principality of Observation summoned by Nigun.

Nigun had never seen anyone defeat it with just one spell. Even the Black Scripture, whose members' power pressed against the limits of humanity, could not do it. In other words, these people's power exceeded that of mankind.

"It can't be! It's impossible! Nobody can defeat a high tier angel with just one spell! What kind of woman are you!? It's impossible that nobody's heard of you before! What is your real name!?"

There was no trace of calm left in Nigun, just his wild screaming in the hope of denying reality.

Ainz spread his hands once more. Under the light of the setting sun, looked like they were drenched in blood.

"...Why do you think it is impossible? Is that not just the result of your ignorance? Or do you mean to say that this is all you know of the world? There is only one thing I can do to answer your question."

Silenced reigned in the air as they awaited the answer. Ainz's voice was as clear as a bell:

"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. That is definitely not an alias"

In the face of Ainz's arrogance, Nigun was unable to rebut what he was hearing. It was something he did not understand from a man he did not know. That was the situation he was in.

Nigun was starting to get annoyed by his rapid breathing.

The sound of grass rustling in the wind was annoying too. His heartbeat sounded especially loud. He was breathing heavily, like he had been running for a long time.

Words of reassurance began appearing in his head. However, the sight of Ainz being stabbed with swords, as well as his mass slaughter of angels with just one spell, were telling Nigun something else.

—That is a monster beyond my wildest imaginings. I could never hope to defeat it.

"Cap-Captain, what, what should we do...?"

"Figure it out yourself! I'm not your mother!"

Nigun only managed to calm down after he could no longer see the face of the man he was shouting at.

Losing his cool in front of an unknown monster like this was a very bad thing.

The sun was slowly falling below the horizon, and darkness threatened to swallow the world. It felt like Death itself was opening its maw to devour everything. Nigun tried to force his fear back, and gave an order:

"Protect me! Protect me if you want to live!"

Nigun brought the crystal out in his trembling hand. His subordinates, usually vigorous and nimble, were chained down by fear and their movements were slow. Even these fearless men would hesitate when ordered to become a shield against a monster like the one which stood before them. However, he had to have them buy him some time, no matter what.

The magic sealed within the crystal could summon the most powerful angel known to man. It was an angel that had single-handedly destroyed a Demon God that rampaged throughout the land two hundred years ago.

It was an angel of the highest order, that could easily destroy a city.

Casting the spell to summon that angel again required an incalculable amount of money and manpower, but Ainz Ooal Gown, this mysterious being, was worthy of being eliminated by its power. More importantly, it would be worse if the crystal was taken without the spell being cast.

This was what Nigun told himself.

He concealed his fear that he would become a lump of meat like his deceased underling.

"I am going to summon an angel of the highest order, hurry up and buy me some time!"

Once they realized the truth, his subordinates moved swiftly.

Ainz, who was facing them, should have noticed the flames of hope blazing up. However, he made no move, instead babbling about some nonsense to himself.

"...Could that be a spell-sealing crystal… and from its brilliance, it should be something that can seal anything except a super tier spell. So they have a YGGDRASIL item like that as well… that being the case, what kind of angel can they summon… Seraph class? Sieg wonders 'if so this is bad'

"Albedo, your skill is now required. While I don't think they can bring out a Seraph Aesphere, if they manage to summon a Seraph Empyrean, we will have to fight them seriously. Or rather… could it be a monster unique to this world?"

"As you will lord Sieg!" Albedo stepped in front of Sieg and prepared her weapon.

While Sieg held his ground, Nigun ritually broke the crystal in his hand, and a brilliant radiance spilled forth.

A hidden sun seemed to have risen upon the land, dying the grass a blinding white. A dull fragrance filtered into everyone's noses.

The legendary angel descended upon the earth, and Nigun exulted:

"Behold! The glorious visage of the highest angel! Dominion Authority!"

It was a mass of many shining wings, and among them were a pair of arms that held a scepter, symbolizing royal authority, but neither its head nor legs were visible. Though it looked quite disturbing, anyone could tell this was a sacred being. In the moment it appeared, the surrounding air turned bright and clear.

The advent of this supreme incarnation of goodness drew wild cheers from everyone who saw it. The blood of Nigun men boiled with excitement.

Now, they could kill these beings.

This time, he would be the one to be afraid.

He would learn his foolishness before the power of the gods.

In the face of their jubilance, the three barely managed to get a sentence out:

"This… this is it?"

"This is what you call getting serious…?"

"This is your ace in the hole that you were planning to use on us?"

As he saw the three shocked faces, Nigun, who had been extremely uneasy, breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, his heart was filled with joy as he replied:

"Indeed! Your fear is only natural. After all, this is what an angel of the highest order looks like. While using it here seems like a bit of a waste, I have determined that you are worthy of it!"

"How could this be…"

Sieg slowly raised his hand and covered his face. To Nigun, it looked like a gesture of despair.

"Ainz Ooal Gown, Sieg and Laeticia, the truth is, you deserve respect for forcing me to summon this most exalted of angels. Be proud of your fearsome strength, magic caster!"

Nigun nodded deeply, and continued:

"Personally speaking, I would like to bring you into our fold. If you are truly that powerful… however, I am not allowed to do so on this mission. At the very least, I shall remember you — the magic caster who made me decide to summon this mighty angel."

However, the response to Nigun's praise was a cold voice:

"Really… this is ridiculous." Sieg aura flared.

"W-w-what?"

Nigun had no idea what Sieg was saying. To Nigun, Sieg was little more than a sacrifice to the highest order of angels, which humanity could not possibly defeat. Yet, his attitude seemed too relaxed for that.

"I can't believe I was on guard against such child's play… my apologies, Albedo. I made you use your skill for nothing." Ainz sigh with relief and disappointment.

"Please, do not say that, supreme one. We did not know what manner of monster they might have called forth, so it was prudent to reduce the chances of injury."

"Is that so…? No, you're right. It's just that I did not expect this to be all. It was quite unexpected." Laeticia commented.

Nigun's mind could not keep up with their patronizing banter.

"How can you act like that in front of the angel of the highest order!?" Nigun shouted, He could not believe that they were chatting leisurely and completely ignoring Dominion Authority.

Their calm attitude of absolute superiority made the surging joy in Nigun's heart vanish. In its place was terror and unease.

Could it be that these people are more powerful than this mightiest of angels?

"No! Impossible! It cannot be! Nobody can be stronger than the highest-placed of the angels! This is a being which can defeat a Demon God! In the face of a foe that humanity cannot beat — it's a bluff! It must be a bluff!"

It would seem Nigun could no longer control his emotions.

He could not, would not acknowledge this. He could not believe that a man who could defeat Dominion Authority was not only an enemy of the Slaine Theocracy, but was standing right in front of him.

"Use it! Use 「Holy Smite」!"

This was the magic of the seventh tier and above, a realm humanity could not reach. Even the large-scale rituals in the Slaine Theocracy could not cast it, but this most exalted of angels, Dominion Authority, could do it by itself. That was why it was ranked among the highest order of all angels.

The magic that Nigun ordered to be cast, the seventh tier 「Holy Smite」, was such a mighty spell.

"I get it, I get it. Hurry up and make your move. I won't do anything. That should satisfy you, right?" Sieg tiredly said with disappointment present in his voice.

However, Sieg relaxed attitude was like a pedestrian letting another person walk past him.

His casual attitude filled Nigun with fear.

This angel of the highest order had once defeated the Demon Gods of legends. Its omnipotent power was enough to qualify it as the mightiest being on the continent. It was invincible.

Yet, if someone could defeat it...

If the mysterious magic caster before him could do it, it would mean that this mysterious person was a far stronger being than a Demon God.

Such a person could not exist.

In response to its Summoner's wish to use its most powerful attack, Dominion Authority shattered its scepter. The fragments rose up into the air and slowly orbited its body.

"I see. So this is a once-per-summoning special skill that it uses to augment its spell power. It would seem this Dominion is about the same as the one in YGGDRASIL…" Laeticia said.

「Holy Smite」.

The spell was cast, and a pillar of light broke through the sky.

With a loud whoosh, a seemingly endless cascade of holy blue-white radiance flooded down from the heavens, submerging Ainz, who simply raised one arm to shade his eyes.

The seventh tier of magic — a height humanity could not hope to attain.

This sacred power would annihilate all evil beings, and even good entities would meet the same fate. The difference was only if they were reduced to sightless atoms, or if there would actually be remains left behind. This was the awesome power of magic that exceeded the realm of humanity.

No, it would be strange if that were not the case.

Yet — he was still there.

Ainz Ooal Gown, the monster, was not blasted into glowing ash, sprawled on the ground, or pulverized into meat jelly, but he was still standing nonchalantly, and even laughing:

"—Hahahahaha, as expected of magic that has extra effect on those of evil alignment… so this is what taking damage feels like… pain, is it? I see, I see! Still, even though I feel pain, my mind is clear, and my ability to act is not affected at all." Sieg and Ainz said.

The pillar of light vanished. It had not had any effect.

"Wonderful, I've concluded another experiment." Sieg smiled.

His voice sounded indifferent… no, it would be more accurate to say that he was satisfied.

Nigun and company thought that way, and the smiles on their faces froze.

However, one person was filled with anger.

"You, you **inferior lifeforms!**"

Albedo's shout ripped through the air.

"You inferior lifeforms! How, how dare you do such a thing to my beloved masters, You pieces of trash, how dare you cause pain to the man I love, my master!? Do not think that I will allow you to die so easily! I will have you taste the greatest suffering this world has to offer until you go mad from agony! I will melt off your limbs with acid, cut off your genitals, and feed them to you as mincemeat! Then I will heal you and do it again! Ahhhhhhhh! I WILL MAKE YOU KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF HELLLLLLL!—"

Her arms, clawing at her head and sheathed in black armor, were writhing.

It felt like the world was distorting, with her at the center. A wave of world-twisting, courage-sapping malice smashed into them like a hurricane.

Something seemed to be crawling under that black armor, like there was an enormous creature that was about to break through the plates and reveal itself. Nigun knew this was happening, but there was nothing he could do but stand there and watch the emergence of a monster that would pollute the world.

'I finally get why they were so nervous around Albedo that night I arrive here…' Laeticia thought as look at Albedo who continue to cures and threaten to do unspeakable things to these men.

**[MESSAGE] **'Hey Momonga your the only one that can stop this now'

'W-what don't just through this all to me!'

'Your the one that changed her setting…'

'...'

Only one person in this world could rein her in now. Ainz raised his hand and quietly said.

"That's enough, Albedo."

Those words were enough to stop Albedo in her tracks.

"...But, but Lord Ainz, these inferior lifeforms…"

"—It's fine, Albedo… everything has gone according to my predictions, aside from the weakness of the angels. What else is there to be angry about?"

As Albedo heard this, she raised a hand to her breast and bowed in acknowledgement.

"...As expected of you Lord Ainz, your insight is truly fitting of the title fathomless I am in awe."

"Nonono, the truth is, I'm quite glad that you would be worried and angry for me. However… your um… charming smile is far more preferable."

"Gufu—! Char-Charming! —Cough, thank you, Lord Ainz!"

"Now then, I'm sorry you had to wait for so long."

Nigun, who was stunned by their easy-going back and forth, finally managed to recover enough of his senses to shout:

"I know it… I know your true identities! — Demon Gods! You must be Demon Gods."

There were scant few intelligent beings that Nigun knew of, which could stand on par with the highest tier angels:

The Six Gods which Nigun believed in

The kings of the mighty draconic races — the Dragon Lords.

The legendary monster who could destroy an entire country — Landfall.

And one more — the Demon Gods.

He had heard that the Thirteen Heroes had defeated and sealed away the Demon Gods. Judging by that wave of evil from just now, that must have been a Demon God about to break its seal.

At the same time, Nigun had the faint hope that if they were Demon Gods, then Dominion Authority might still have a chance to win.

"One more time! Use 「Holy Smite」!"

Ainz said that the spell had hurt. That meant that he had been injured. It might mean that he had trouble just standing up.

Countless "What ifs" and "Might" popped up in Nigun's mind. Without them, he would go mad.

However, Laeticia would not permit a second attack.

"That quit enough **[AUTHORITY OF GOD]**!" Laeticia activated one of her class skills which derive from her class in **[God Hand]**. This ability allows her to control any low or mid tier holy creatures.

Dominos Authority stop and turned to Nigun and his men.

"So you think that this can kill us, don't make me laugh, now know despair…"

Karna hand burst into crimson flame, four giant swords made of flame spawn from above Dominos Authority, the blades stabbed the angel through it body, tiring it apart but now before the blade exploded and arumpt into a pillar resembling the Inferno of hell.

The flame swallowed everything.

It was so underwhelming that it made them stare in dumbfounded silence. It might even be laughable. But they could no longer see it.

As the radiance of Dominion Authority vanished, the light drained from the surroundings.

There was only the sound of the hot wind blowing across the plains. And then a hoarse cry broke the silence.

"Who… are you people…" Nigun asked these these impossible beings again. "I have never heard the name of a magic caster called Ainz Ooal Gown nor Sieg and Laeticia before… no, there can't be someone who could destroy the highest ranked angel in one blow! Someone like that should not exist..."

Nigun shook his head powerlessly.

"All I know is that you are far beyond a Demon God… this is unbelievable… who exactly are you!?"

"...Like I said, I am Ainz Ooal Gown. In the past, there was who did not fear this name... Well, I guess we've spent enough time on idle chatter. Going on would only be pointless. Also, just so we don't waste each other's time, there is an anti-teleport effect surrounding me, and my subordinates are waiting in ambush. You have nowhere to run."

The sun set completely, and darkness swallowed the land.

Nigun knew that this was the end. This was an unassailable reality. Just as his subordinates fell into despair one after the other, cracks appeared in the sky, like the breaking of a pot. They vanished in an instant, and the scenery has returned to normal.

As confusion washed over Nigun, Ainz answered:

"Good grief… you know, you should thank me. It would seem someone was using divination magic to keep an eye on you, but because I was in the spell's effective range, my anti-scrying offensive barrier activated, and you were not observed. Really, if I had known, I would have linked a higher tier attack spell to it."

Those words filled Nigun's eyes with realization.

The Slaine Theocracy must have been spying on him.

"A widened 「Explosion」 might not be enough to teach them how to behave… oh well, things being as they are, playtime is over."

A wave of cold ran through Nigun as he picked up the hidden meaning in those words.

He, who had always been the oppressor, was now going to become one of the oppressed.

He was filled with an incomparable fear. The fear that he, who had taken countless lives in the past, was now going to have his own life taken. His subordinates saw his terrified expression and it frightened them as well.

He was on the verge of tears.

He wanted to kneel down and loudly begged for his life, but Ainz did not look like a compassionate man nor Sieg and Laeticia. Thus, Nigun fought back the urge to weep, trying his best to look for a way to survive. But no matter how he thought, he could not think of any way to get help from the outside. Therefore, his only hope was to throw himself on the mercy of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Wait, wait a bit! Sir Ainz, no, Lord Ainz! Please wait, we, no, I wish to make a deal with you! I guarantee you will not be disappointed! As long as you spare me, I will give you any amount of money you want!"

He could see his shocked subordinates out of the corner of his eye, but they were no longer relevant to him. The thing that mattered now was his own life. Everything else was of secondary importance.

Besides, he could find more subordinates, but his own self was irreplaceable.

Ignoring the countless angry voices of his men, Nigun continued:

"It must be difficult to satisfy the tastes of such a great magic caster as yourself, but I will definitely prepare enough money to please you! I have a position of some power in my country, so they will definitely pay any price to ransom me! Of course, if you desire anything else, I will do my best to meet your wishes! So I beg you! Please spare my life!"

Nigun panted as he finished his monologue.

"What, what about it my lord?!"

A delicate, gentle woman's voice responded to Nigun's desperate plea:

"Did you not already reject the compassionate offer of the Supreme One?"

"That is!"

"...I know what you want to say. You wanted to beg for your life because accepting his proposition would also mean your death. Am I correct?"

The black-helmeted head shook, as though it was tired of talking.

"You seem to have gotten the wrong idea. Since Lord Ainz, who holds the power of life and death in Nazarick, has already stated his will, inferior lifeforms like you humans should lower your heads and gratefully await the taking of your life."

Albedo's forceful words were backed by an adamant resolve.

She's mad. This woman is mad. Nigun, who realized this, looked hopefully to Sieg and Laeticia.

Sieg had been quietly listening to them. When he realized that Nigun was waiting for his decision, he shook his head in exasperation and said:

"Indeed… it is as she says. Cease your pointless struggles and lie down like a good dog. As a final act of mercy, I will kill you without drawing out your suffering."

—

As they three walked along the night-veiled plains, Ainz raised his head. What greeted him was the beautiful sight of stars in the sky.

Ainz sighed at the scenery for the second time, and then he headed back to the village.

He had gone a little overboard.

As long as his friend was by his side, he could not afford to appear useless to them. Have Albedo there didn't help either, as her master, he needed to act in a fitting manner in front of his subordinates. While he might have gone a bit too far, it still fit the role he was playing.

He did not know if he had passed or failed, but it would be fine as long as Albedo was not disappointed.

Ainz could not see Albedo's expression of, Damn, the supreme ones was so cool, especially Lord Ainz meme hemm~ under her closed helmet. Since he could not tell what she was thinking, he went over the day's proceedings once more.

"Still, my lord, may I ask why you save Gazef?"

Why indeed? Sieg could not articulate his feelings at that time, so he tried to approximate them for her:

"This was a problem we caused, so shouldn't we try and settle it ourselves?"

"Then why did you give him that item?"

"I was laying the foundation for future plans. Letting him hold it would be a good thing for me."

In truth Ainz had given Gazef a cash item from YGGDRASIL, but he had a great many of them. Although he could not replenish his stock of them, giving one away was not a great loss.

In addition, Ainz was actually happy to have less of those items.

That was because those were consolation prizes from the 500 yen gacha draws, which reminded Ainz of how profligate he had been with his spending and his poor lifestyle then. In addition, while he had spent countless 500 yen coins on finally getting the ultra rare item that was the top prize, his former comrade Yamaiko had gotten it on the first try. The impact of that incident cast an indelible shadow in Ainz's heart.

He had wanted to throw those consolation prizes away, but when he thought of the 500 yen it had cost… he could not bear to wastefully dispose of it.

"Well, it doesn't matter who ends up with that item in the end, or if it ends up being used or not. It's no loss to me."

"...Would it not have been best to let me take care of things? There was no need to trouble yourself my lord, to personally aid those inferior lifeforms… surrounding them was hardly a difficult task, which is why I submit that you did not need to personally take the field."

"Is that so…"

Without a device to measure power levels, that was all Ainz could say in response.

In YGGDRASIL, one could determine the strength of an enemy by the color of their names. Beyond that, one could only rely on information from one's friends and walkthrough sites.

Ainz Sieg and Laeticia could not help but feel nostalgic.

If only I had learned some divination-type spells — Ainz thought, with a hint of regret. Of course, he did not know if those spells could be used here. However, if he could, then he would not have to be as nervous as he was now.

Still, there was no point worrying about what he did not have. Ainz decided to think of something else:

"Look Albedo, we know your strength, and we trust you devotion, however, I would like you to discard such shallow thinking and remember that an enemy who is stronger than myself could appear at any time. This is especially true given that we do not quite understand this world… so I hoped Gazef could do our work for us." Sieg said as turned to look at Albedo.

"I see… so you used him as a pawn to feel out the enemy's strength. It is quite fitting to use inferior lifeforms like humans in that way."

'Close enough…' the three sigh.

The three of them had once been a human being, and now they were monsters, an undead, a demon and an Angel. The three already had sensed that Albedo hated humans very much. However, it did not upset them or make them feel depressed. Rather, they felt that such thoughts were quite suitable for the inhuman Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

"...Indeed. However, that is not all. Since we saved him at the brink of death, he will be even more grateful to us. In addition, since the enemy was a special forces unit, the country's higher-ups will not investigate the matter too openly. That was why we stepped in." Laeticia explained.

"Ah… as expected of you my Lady... so that was why you took the commander and the others alive. Marvellously done!"

The three could not help but feel proud when they heard Albedo's praise. After all, they managed to put together a sensible, coherent plan in a short period of time; perhaps this was their leadership talent at work. Just then, Albedo's cheerful voice entered the supreme beings self-satisfied ears:

"...Still, was it necessary to take the angels' swords with your precious body, my lords?"

"Is that how it looked to you? When we first came to Carne Village, we used the knights on the outskirts to verify that my High Tier Physical Nullification was still working normally." Sieg said.

"Indeed, you are correct. I verified it with my own eyes as well. However, I do not wish my eyes to helplessly watch the swords of those despicable angels piercing your body, lord Sieg."

"..."

Though she hides it well, Ainz and Sieg could the aura of jealousy coming off of Laeticia.

"...I see your point, though you were our shield, I did not take your feelings into consideration. You have my—" Ainz was cut off as Albedo continue to speak.

"—And even if I knew you would emerge unscathed, which woman would want to see the man she loves being stabbed by swords?"

"...Ah, yes."

Ainz did not know how to answer, so he let it slide as he continued to the village. Albedo did not seem to want to press the matter and followed quietly.

Once they reached the village, the villagers, led by the Death Knight, came out to meet them.

They lavished praise and thanks onto them, and Ainz saw Gazef among the villagers.

"Oh, Chief Warrior, I'm glad you're alright. I should have gone to your side earlier, but the item I gave you took some time to work, which was why I was almost too late. My apologies."

"What are you saying? It is I who should thank you, sir Ainz. After all, you saved me… speaking of which, where did those fellows go?"

Since Gazef had changed his tone somewhat, Ainz decided to nonchalantly inspect him.

Gazef had taken off his armor and carried no weapons with him.

He was bruised all over and half his face was swollen up, like a strange-looking, misshapen ball. Yet, a fire burned within his eyes.

Ainz turned away, as though he had seen something brilliant. His eyes reflexively went to the ring Gazef wore on his left ring finger.

So he was married. It's probably good that his wife won't need to shed tears for him. As he thought about that, Ainz decided to carefully put on an act:

"Oh, I chased them off. I couldn't take care of all of them, as I thought."

That was a lie, of course. They had all been shipped back to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Gazef narrowed his eyes a little, but neither of them spoke. The air between them grew tense.

In the end, Gazef broke the silence:

"Truly amazing. I do not know how I can repay you for your help, Gown-dono. Please, look for me when you come to the Royal Capital. I will welcome you with open arms."

"Is that so… then, I will have to impose on you when the time comes." Sieg smile slightly.

"...sir Sieg, I do not know what plans you have, but would you be willing to travel with us? We will be staying in this village for a while."

"Is that so? Well, I was planning to move on, though I have not decided my destination yet."

"Still, it's already too late, travelling now would be…"

Gazef cut himself off halfway:

"Forgive me, there was no need to worry about a mighty being like yourself. Then, please seek me out when you reach the capital. My doors will always be open to you. In addition, I am deeply grateful to you for your gift of a full set of equipment from the knights who attacked the village."

The three nodded, and decided that he had taken care of everything he needed to do in this village. There had been more things to do here than he had expected, and he had spent more time here than he had planned.

"Let's go home, Albedo," Sieg said in a voice low enough that only his friends and Albedo could here. Albedo immediately turned around joyfully in response — although she was still wearing her full plate armor.

—

Momonga room was filled with exquisite furniture, while the floor was laid with a bright red carpet. This vast room was usually draped in a thin veil of silence, and today it was even more quiet than normal. The maid who normally attended him here was nowhere to be seen. The only people here were Momonga Albedo, his friends and the Death Knight standing off in the corner of the room.

Albedo spoke in a soft, syrupy sweet voice, as though trying to preserve the silence of the room:

"I have a report to deliver. The commander of the Slaine Theocracy's Sunlight Scripture who we captured has been incarcerated in the Frozen Prison. We will extract information from him with the help of the Special Intelligence-Gathering Officer."

"If it's Neuronist, there shouldn't be any problems. However, I want to conduct experiments on the bodies… do you know anything about this?"

"Understood. In addition, we are currently looking through the arms and armor recovered from the men dressed as knights. They do not bear any major enchantments and will be sent to the Treasury after the investigations are concluded."

"...Well, that's the proper way to dispose of them." Karna said in reflax way.

"And finally, I plan to have two Shadow Demons keep an eye on the village. Then, what should we do about Gazef Stronoff?" Jeanne asked.

"Leave the Warrior-Captain be for now. It is more important that we build a good relationship with that village. We might need their help in future, so avoid antagonizing them." Karna said.

"Understood. I will take care of it. Thus ends the report."

Momonga turned to look at Albedo as he said, "Well done." The look on her face was slightly different from her usual gentle smile. She seemed particularly happy today.

The reason was the sparkling Ring (of Ainz Ooal Gown) upon her left ring finger, which she caressed lovingly.

Although she could wear the ring anywhere she wanted, it was not hard to tell why she was wearing a ring on that finger.

If that was how Albedo truly felt, then as a man, Momonga would be overjoyed. However, if that was the result of his tampering, it would make him feel guilty instead.

"Albedo… the love you feel for me is the result of my meddling. They are certainly not your original feelings. Therefore…"

What should he do next? Was it right to change her memories with magic?

'Idiot…' Karna and Jeanne mentally facepalm.

Momonga could not go on. Just then, Albedo looked at Momonga and smiled.

"Before you changed me, what kind of person was I, Lord Momonga?"

A S-L-U-T.

Ainz could not say that, of course, but he did not know how to tell her. Though he appeared calm enough on the exterior, his heart was in chaos. Then, Albedo spoke again.

"Then, I am quite happy with the way I am now, so there is no need for you to feel upset, my lord."

"But…"

"But...? But what, may I ask?"

Ainz did not answer, sensing something unusual coming from Albedo. She continued addressing the silent Ainz:

"There is only one thing that matters."

As Momonga waited for Albedo to continue, she said:

"Does it trouble you?"

Momonga dumbly opened his mouth, taking note of Albedo's smiling face. Her words branded themselves deeply into his brain — although his skull was empty — but Momonga knew what she was trying to say, he looked over to his friends, they just gave him the 'hurry up and say something' look and he hastily replied:

"No, no, how could it inconvenience me..."

He was not at all unhappy with receiving the love of a beautiful woman like Albedo. At least, for now.

"Then, is there a problem with it?"

"...Eh—"

'He's hopeless…' Karna mentally sigh.

'Oh Momonga, even though you undead you're still you…' Jeanne smile giggle inwardly.

However to Momonga It felt wrong. He thought that, but Momonga could not find any reason to refute her.

"Then, it should be fine, right?" Albedo said again. Ainz could sense something mysterious and inscrutable in those words, and he brought up a question in a final, desperate attempt to struggle free:

"I messed with Tabula character settings. Don't you wish to go back to your old self?"

"I believe Tabula-sama would approve, with all the joy of giving his daughter away for marriage."

"...Is, is that so?"

Was he really like that? Just as Momonga was thinking about this, the sound of crashing metal rang out.

He turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw a longsword on the ground. The Death Knight who should have been holding that sword was nowhere to be seen. He had summoned the missing Death Knight not long ago.

"...When I summon them normally, they disappear after a while… given the way the sword from this world is on the ground, it would seem that equipment alone was not enough to bind them to this world, so it was left behind. If that is the case, does that Death Knight remain here because I used a corpse to summon it? It would appear that I can strengthen Nazarick if I had more corpses."

"Then, shall we collect a large amount of corpses for you?"

"...Try to avoid digging up that village's graveyard." Karna cut in before the guardians overseer get any ideas.

"Understood. However, we must then consider a way to procure fresh corpses. Now that the Death Knight has disappeared, everyone should have assembled by now. Please proceed to the throne room with Sebas. I will go ahead first my lord."

"I see. All right, Albedo. I'll see you later." The three stood up and walk out the door.

As Albedo quietly left Momonga room, she saw Sebas approaching along the corridor.

"Sebas, you've come just in time."

"Lady Albedo. Is lord Momonga in his room?"

"Yes, he is."

"You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?"

"Yes."

Albedo's joy was not just because of the name, but because she recalled her conversation with Momonga. She spoke of marrying Momonga, and he did not reject or deny the suggestion. In other words...

Albedo's smile shifted, going from graceful and elegant to lewd and wicked in an instant. it was a smile she would never show to Momonga.

"Meemmeh, I've done it. No, I will definitely do it. I will be the one seated beside him. Shalltear will be nothing more than my footrest."

Albedo clenched her fist, unable to resist the words boiling up in her heart. These were not words of a Guardian Overseer, but a woman.

"Ah, my succubus blood is boiling…"

Sebas silently watched Albedo as she acted up.

The Throne Room.

Sebas trailed behind Momonga, karna and jeanne as they entered the room, fashionably late.

There were many people kneeling here, to show their loyalty.

Nobody in this place moved a muscle, and it was so quiet that even the sound of their breathing could be heard. Apart from that, there was only the sound of the supreme ones and Sebas's footsteps, as well as the tapping of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on the ground.

Momonga ascended the stairs and sat on the throne alone with karna and Jeanne who also summon a throne on each side of Momonga. Sebas remained at the foot of the throne, kneeling behind Albedo.

Karna silently surveyed the throne room from where he was seated.

Almost all of the guild's NPCs were gathered below him. They looked quite majestic when he watched them from on high, like a Night Parade of monsters. Karna could not help but silently praise his guild members for their creativity in making so many different and interesting characters, this though was also shared by Momonga and Jeanne. As he looked again, there were several NPCs who were not present. However, that could not be helped. After all, they could not easily move the ultra-large golem Gargantua and Victim — who oversaw the eighth Floor — from their positions.

However, it was not just NPCs who were gathered here. Although they were not intended to replace the above mentioned two people, this great hall also contained many high-levelled vassals who had been hand-picked by the other Floor Guardians.

That said — the Throne Room did not feel crowded at all, given its massive size. Although he could understand why his underlings would not want to let their servants into the heart of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — the Throne Room — karna felt that such severity was not needed.

'Ah, forget it, not like it's important anyway...' he thought. After deciding to discuss those matters later, Momonga lowly addressed his subordinates.

"Firstly, I would like to apologize for taking independent action."

Momonga was feeling singularly unapologetic as he said those words. It was mere pleasantry, yet the apology was extremely important. Since gathering them all was his idea, then he needed to let his subordinates know that he trusted them implicitly.

"Albedo will tell you why I have gathered you all here afterwards. However, there is a matter which is more important than that. I must tell the gathered members of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick something — 「Greater Break Item」."

Momonga cast a spell which could destroy a magic item of a certain level. A large flag fell from one of the poles attached to the ceiling.

The sigil on the flag represented "Momonga".

With loud tap of the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga raises from his throne.

"I have changed my name. From now on, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown. You may call me as Ainz."

Momonga raised his staff and forcefully slammed its tip into the ground again.

"If anyone objects to this, rise now and let your views be heard!"

Nobody spoke out in opposition. Albedo lower her head, a second later she was was all smiles as she replied "I feel that some of the supreme beings who abandoned us, might object that name being used by the one that had mercifully stayed with us now".

Karna looked at Albedo '...hem, the way she's said that… it doesn't make sense…' karna look intently at Albedo. From his side jeanne notice Karna harden gaze and wonder what happen but she remain silent as Albedo continue.

"We have heard your precious name lord and we will devote ourselves to it, with unwavering loyalty, glory to lord AINZ OOAL GOWN!" Albedo declares with absolute loyalty.

GLORY TO LORD AINZ OOAL GOWN, ALL HAIL, ALL HAIL!" The guardians shouted.

"We give ourselves to you utterly and without any hesitation!" Shalltear declares.

""To the most powerful supreme beings!"" The dark elf twins shouted at the same time.

"Everyone in this world will know of your greatness and fear your undying wrath" Demiurge started with a prideful smile.

"Our king, who rules over all, FOREVER!" Cocytus release an icy breath as he lowered his head more to shower his unwavering loyalty.

"Glory to the Overlord, the supreme ruler of death!" And with that declaration made by Albedo, Ainz Ooal Gown raised his staff and forcefully slammed its tip into the ground.

"This is an absolute order, make the name Ainz Ooal Gown an eternal legend!" He gripped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown tightly, and rapped it on the ground. Then, as if responding to Ainz, the crystals socketed on the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown radiated light in all the colors of the rainbow, and the air around him trembled.

"There may be many heroes, but we will surpass each and every one of them. We will let everybody in this world know that Ainz Ooal Gown are the true heroes! If there are people stronger than us, we will deal with them in ways other than force. If we encounter a magician with many subordinates, we will achieve our goal some other way. This is merely the preparatory phase in order to let everyone know that Ainz Ooal Gown is the greatest. Let us fight together for this glorious future!"

He would spread this name throughout the world. The former members of Ainz Ooal Gown may have left YGGDRASIL, but there was a chance they might be in this world, like Ainz.

Therefore, he had to make Ainz Ooal Gown a legend, so everyone would know of it.

He would carry this name to the ears of his comrades who might be in this world.

Ainz's fearsome presence was startling, and his thunderous voice could be heard anywhere in the Throne Room.

Their voices united as one, everyone in the Throne Room lowered their heads. The sound they made might have been taken for a prayer.

As he basked in the praise of his subordinates, Ainz looked over to Karna and Jeanne who there smiling at him 'My friends, what do you think of me using this great name? Are you happy? Are you displeased? If you have any objections, please let me know, tell me, "this is not a name you can take for yourself." I will gladly return to my old name of Momonga, but for now, across the land, over the sky and through the sea, I will spread the name of Ainz Ooal Gown throughput this strange new world, and if any of my friends had come here, their will know that there not alone and find me'.

'I have absolutely no objection, in fact this is a great idea' Jeanne happily said.

'...I think no one will object to this… Ainz' Karna smile grew bigger as the three look down, they saw their friends in the place of the NPC.

—

The throne was vacant after its masters left, but the air in the Throne Room still boiled with excitement.

Hearing their Supreme Overlord's orders to work as one filled everybody with incomparable motivation, especially those who had been given specific orders.

"Everyone, raise your heads."

After hearing Albedo's calm and steady voice, the people whose heads were still lowered lifted their heads in unison.

"Everyone, please act as lord Ainz orders. After that, I have something to announce."

Albedo's eyes were fixed on the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown that hung behind the throne. The NPCs and servants behind her were also looking at it.

"Demiurge, tell everyone what the Supreme ones said to you."

"Understood."

Demiurge was kneeling with everyone else. However, his voice could clearly be heard by everyone present.

"On the third night since we've arrive in this world, The Supreme Beings looked to the night sky and told me, 'Perhaps the reason that we have come here is to claim this chest of jewels which belongs to nobody.' After that, lord Karna said, 'No, this is not something I can claim for myself. Perhaps these jewels are meant to adorn the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick; and my friends from Ainz Ooal Gown.' The chest of jewels here refers to the world. This is where the all powerful ones true ambitions lie."

Demiurge smiled, but it was filled with something other than kindness.

"Finally, Lord Karna said, 'However, conquering this world might be quite interesting.' In short, that means…"

The looks in everyone's eyes turned razor-sharp. It represented their iron will and determination.

Albedo rose slowly, to look on everyone's faces.

Everyone looked at Albedo, as if in response. At the same time, they looked at the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown behind her.

"Understanding Lord Karna and the Supreme Beings true intentions and preparing for them is the proof of our loyalty and the mark of excellent subordinates. Everyone must keep in mind that the final objective of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick is to deliver this chest of jewels — the world — to the Supreme Beings."

Albedo was all smiles, and she turned that smile to the flag behind her.

"Lord Ainz, Lord Karna And Lady Jeanne, we swear we will give this world to you."

Then, countless voices spoke as one, their words echoing across the Throne Room.

"We will render everything in this world unto its rightful ruler, the 41 Supreme Beings!".


	6. Character Stats Card - Jeanne D'arc

**—****Jeanne D'arc**

**-Heteromorphic Race**

**-****title****: The Beautiful Holy Saint**

**-****Job****: One of the a almighty 41 Supreme Beings**

**Ainz Ooal Gown holy maiden**

**Residents****: The Great Tomb of Nazarick**

**room in 9th floor**

**—STATS—**

**Racial:**

**Angel 10 lv**

**Archangel 5 lv**

**Dominion 10 lv**

**Holy Maiden 10 lv**

**Seraphim 5 lv**

**Job Class:**

**Divine Cleric 10 lv**

**Ruler 5 lv**

**Holy Lancer 10 lv**

**Saint 15 lv**

**God Hand 5 lv**

**Martyr 5 lv**

**Sword Saint 5 lv**

**Virtue (Sacrifice) 5 lv**

**Race (40) + Job Class (60) Total Level: 100**

A/N: i would like to thank Buujack for giving me this character stats idea credit go out to you buddy and thank you and everybody else's That commented and gave me ideas.


	7. Extra Info

_**NAZARICK**_

The Great Tomb of Nazarick is the guild headquarters of Ainz Ooal Gown, one of the top guilds in YGGDRASIL. It widely renowned for being an unconquerable dungeon throughout the DMMORPG YGGDRASIL. Prior to Ainz Ooal Gown conquering this dungeon, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was originally set to have only six floors. After Ainz Ooal Gown conquered it, the dungeon was completely reconstructed and was stretched to over ten floors. For travel between floors, there are specific points on each floor, where gates open to allow magical transit.

Initially, the max data storage for making Custom N. was 2250, but since the dungeon was won by Ainz Ooal Gown on its first try, they were granted additional data levels of 500. This setup allows the guild to make up a grand total of 2750 levels of Custom N. at most. Thus, Nazarick is considered to be almost on-par with the other nine dungeons in YGGDRASIL, that offer 3000 level data storage for N. .

_**Surface**_

The exterior shown outside the dungeon depicted the Great Tomb of Nazarick as being 200 meters wide in all four directions. It was enclosed by 6-meter tall perimeter walls surrounding the tomb, with two entrances of the front and back gate. There was no pattern to the Nazarick's tombstones. There were lots of statues of goddesses and angels dotting around the cemetery, some of which could have been regarded as a piece of art lingering about. And then there were 4 mausoleums or tombs at the four cardinal directions with a large mausoleum in the center. The surroundings of the center mausoleum being the largest tomb exist with an entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, held eight 10 meter tall armor wearing figures. This central tomb is the upper-most level that one can teleport to by using a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The characteristics of the undead that spawn here in Nazarick can heal by negative damage, and get damaged by positive energy. They are also unaffected by instant death attacks and mental attacks as well. It is a strategy that takes advantage of the undead's racial traits. The negative damage spread across the floors by about 1 point and reduces the area effects on positive energy while still allowing recovery magic. Additionally, there was a transportation trap system that could divide the party. That wasn't the only trap as there were many other types strung up all over the place. Traps that blinded people and ones that poisoned the air, all for the sake of blocking the path of the adventurers.

All the enemies were comprised solely of undead in Nazarick, but it still was not easy to cope with them. Coupled with the typical undead of zombies and skeletons, original monsters could be used and is one of the major factors of the invaders' crushing defeat. As well as elementals, demons, and devils appearing more frequently than let alone Summoned Monsters. Summoned Monsters could be specifically chosen to be disadvantageous to the opponent. In a nutshell, one could choose those with fatal special abilities. Naturally, the deeper the invaders went into the floors, much more difficult monsters would appear. It was a wall of monsters so thick that one could not even imagine how much resources were spent on Nazarick.

On the other hand, repairing damage to the Great Tomb of Nazarick requires the payment of a fee. However, one can repair a certain sum's worth of damage every day for no charge. In particular, the upper floors were designed to be particularly cheap given the fact that intruders often attempted to invade, so even repairing the entire floor is not a great expense. In contrast, things on the 9th Floor are looked upon as quite expensive. Still, items within the royal suites are usually expensive anyways. Nazarick was warred to block teleportation magic into or within itself except for a few specific areas.

_**Inside**_

_**1st—3rd Floor: Catacomb—Floor Guardian: Shalltear Bloodfallen**_

The 1st to 3rd floors is the Catacombs. They consist of the subterranean burial chambers where several dozen undead are wandering around in the darkness.

_**Black Capsule:**_ Residence of Kyouhukou. Located on the 2nd Floor. An empty void with seemingly endless space contain thousands upon millions of man eating cockroaches.

_**Derelict Rope Bridge:**_ It is held up by ropes that looked like they were about to break. The boards below one feet were rotten through, and where some knots had come loose, the planks had fallen off, leaving nothing, but empty space where they should have been. Below the bridge were the silhouettes of countless corpses.

_**Grave Vault of Adipocere:**_ The place where Shalltear resides in. Located on the 2nd Floor.

_**Windowless Underground Chapel:**_ The chapel is about a hundred meters across and completely unlit. It was styled like an old chapel that was recently ransacked by demons. Old wooden chair were scattered across the room and a statue of a bird with human body that was made of rusted and dirty gold was at the chapel end.

_**4th Floor: Underground Lake—Floor Guardian: Gargantua**_

This floor is an underground lake contained within a cavern. In the past, before Ainz Ooal Gown's conquest of the tomb, the boss of this floor was a giant white bat.

_**5th Floor: The Glacier—Floor Guardian: Cocytus**_

This floor is a wide area filled with numerous icebergs. Weather phenomena including cloud and snow are present here. There was an area penalty that caused slow and gave ice-type damage, some members recalls the time of an accident when he had been crossing a lake and spotted a giant serpent-like monster swimming below. Although it was not a pleasant memory to them, that experience has been put to use in the creation of the 5th Floor.

_**Frozen Prison:**_ A two-story building that looks like a rusted iron fortress, though it is frozen on the surface, making its appearance bleak. Captured enemies of Nazarick are locked here, guarded by Wraith-type undead monsters.

_**Room of Truth:**_ Neuronist Painkill's room/Torture room/special intelligent collector chamber.

_**Room of the Weeping Women:**_ Nigredo room. One should get a baby doll from the entrance and give it to Nigredo to calm her down before starting conversations. Or else she will run at you with giant scissors in hand and kill you.

_**Snowball Earth:**_ Cocytus' residence. It is a white dome looking similar to an overturned vespiary. Six large crystals surround this structure, which are residences of Frost Virgins (level 82).

_**6th Floor: Jungle—Floor Guardian Aura Bella Fiora & Mare Bello Fiore**_

This floor is about 200 meters in height. Created by Blue Planet, a fake sun as well as a fake sky exists on the ceiling, reproducing the day and night cycle that changes according to the time of day. There is no weather except the wind produced in this area, so Mare occasionally summons rain. This floor boasted of the widest area in Nazarick. It was a square four kilometers wide, and the center held a large lake. Most of the area was not a forest but a jungle, and plains only took up a twentieth of the area.

_**Gigantic Trees:**_ Aura and Mare's residence.

_**Amphitheatrum:**_ Built as a copy of the Roman Colosseum. Golems act as the audience, while VIP seats are prepared for guild members. Dragonkins (level 55) work as cleaners.

_**Huge Lake:**_ It is placed in the middle of the floor. As large it as may be, it is still smaller than the underground lake on the 4th Floor.

Poisonous Pits

Twisted Trees

Mangrove Forest

Bottomless Swamps

Various Types of Woodlands

_**7th Floor: The Inferno—Floor Guardian: Demiurge**_

This floor is crimson lava flowed like a river, with numerous bubbles in these currents bursting as they reached the surface. This place, which was thoroughly inimical to the living, perfectly fitted the description of a "hell world." In the past, before Ainz Ooal Gown's conquest of the tomb, the boss of this floor was a fire dragon.

According to Demiurge, this dominion was designed and created for him by Ulbert Alain Odle, so it contains everything he needs to perform his function.

_**Blazing Temple:**_ Demiurge's residence. The entrance to the 8th Floor is inside the temple. Seven Evil Lords (around level 80) guard this area. It looks like a remain of an old temple that was burned to the ground.

_**River of Lava:**_ An area guarded by Guren. There should have been a fire-elemental damage field effect in place here, but since that effect had been temporarily suspended, the area was merely hot instead. However, despite the word "merely", this was not a place where the living could easily survive. The scorching air would easily strip throats and skin of their moisture in seconds. Even freshly beaded sweat dripping from the foe's body would instantly vaporize into steam, causing a steady accumulation of fatigue. This place, which was thoroughly inimical to the living, perfectly fitted the description of a "hell world." Even so, many creatures like fire-immune demons lived here, part of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. There are other monsters such as Mephits and fire-immune undead residing in this area.

_**8th Floor: Hierarchy—Floor Guardian: Victim**_

This floor is Nazarick's final defense line, guarded by the most powerful N. . Capture of the 8th Floor means that Ainz Ooal Gown's chances of victory is low. This floor seems to be dangerous even to the N. of Nazarick as some of the other guild members issue an order that are not allowed to be taken there. There is at least one World Item exists here.

The 8th Floor is guarded by Victim and the far more powerful N. working under it. They were the last line of defense who had the task of stopping invaders from getting pass the 8th Floor. In the past, they successfully put an end to the largest invasion to have ever occurred throughout the history of YGGDRASIL. An 8 guild alliance was formed to take on the dungeon of Nazarick. There were 1500 players and present and they all got absolutely annihilated on the 8th floor.

Along the way, all humans who watch a recorded movie of what happened with the invaders on the 8th Floor of Nazarick screamed that it was impossible. There came a point where official mail was flooded with questions by other players beside the invaders of whether or not it was classified as an illegal construction.

Their floor was considered the only location around in Nazarick which the other Floor Guardians except Victim know hardly anything about especially those unidentified residents who are part of the 8th Floor Hierarchy. The Floor Guardians assumes that the existence of an 8th Floor Hierarchy was also made to destroy them in the event that they rebelled against the supreme beings.

The 8th Floor Hierarchy are considered to be the most powerful force of unknown N. throughout the Great Tomb of Nazarick. On the 8th Floor, they have the strength to withstand and annihilate 1000 to 1200 players among the 1500 invaders hailing from the Union of Eight Guilds. They are also viewed as being Nazarick's maximum strength. Those of the 8th Floor Hierarchy are extraordinarily strong and a large amount of them had their MP almost depleted after the battle was over

The 8th Floor was said to secretly contained "Nazarick's largest trump card," suggesting that it may have possibly play some important role in actually defeating them. After failing to conquer the 8th Floor Hierarchy, the defeatists labeled their "trump card" a cheat and never once again bother to combat Nazarick afterward.

There are also a few individuals in the 8th Floor Hierarchy who had the actual power to combat Nazarick's strongest N.P.C, Rubedo, and only if they were to use World Items on her. Regardless, no matter how strong Rubedo is, she would not be able to fight one of them to a draw.

_**Sephiroth: The Tree of Live:**_ Victim's residence. It looks like a giant tree style after the YGGDRASIL tree in Norse Mythology.

_**Cherry Blossom Sanctuary: **_Aureole Omega's residence. The Uka-no-Mitama and Ootoshi guard this area.

_**9th Floor: Royal Suite**_

This floor contains Guild Members' and N. ' rooms. It also included imitations of large communal baths, cafeterias, beauty salons, clothing stores, grocery stores, fitness salons, nail salons and numerous other types of facility rooms.

_**Round Table Room:**_ Conference chamber of the Forty-One Supreme Beings.

_**Bar:**_ Managed by the Sous-chef.

_**Spa Resort Nazarick:**_ Largely public, it has a total of eighteen baths with nine types for the two genders. It is a bath, which was made up of twelve zones in total. These zones would include the largest jungle bath, a traditional looking roman bath, a yuzu bath with yuzus floating on it, a carbonated bath, a jacuzzi, an electric bath with low current that electrified the body, a cold bath with charcoals floating on it, the Cherenkov pool, a mixed open-air bath with an artificial scenery, a sauna, a bedrock bath, and finally, the lounge.

_**Staff Canteen:**_ A white-washed canteen area, where the homunculus maids of Nazarick gather for meals and manicure Salon.

_**10th Floor: Throne—Floor Guardian: Albedo**_

This floor is where the throne in which the guild master sits on. The throne is a World Item better known as "The Throne of Kings."

_**Room of the Pleiades Six Stars:**_ Located right after the entrance of the 10th floor.

_**Lemegeton:**_ 67 Golems (inspired from the Spirits of Solomon) and elemental traps exist in the hall to delay any enemies.

_**Throne Hall:**_ Albedo's original residence. Two World Items exist in this hall, including Albedo's "True Nought, Ginnungagap". This great hall also contained many high-leveled vassals who had been hand-picked by the other Floor Guardians.

_**Ashurbanipal:**_ This library is the residence of Titus Annaeus Secundus. Here is where Ainz Ooal Gown, stores book-shaped items along with normal books. Magic scrolls are also manufactured in this area. It is guarded by five overlords (over level 75), whose names are based on the Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire (Cocceius, Ulpius, Aelius, Fulvius and Aurelius).

_**Treasury—Area Guardian: Pandora's Actor**_

This place is spatially isolated from other areas, so a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown is necessary to enter the Treasury. On the other hand, the air in the Treasury is toxic and thus, anyone without poison immunity or items granting it will die within three steps.

_**Chief Manager's Room:**_ The place where Pandora's Actor resides in.

_**Mausoleum: **_The vault which holds the World Items. It is also a resting place for Ainz Ooal Gown former guild members. Guarded by 37 golems named Avatars. If one enters the mausoleum with a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown equipped, the Avatars will attack that person. As a dungeon, the Great Tomb of Nazarick has numerous systems incorporated in its data that regulate its maintenance and defense.

_**Administration System:**_ In order to gain access to this system, it requires a member to say the keywords which are "Master Source — Open." It recorded the daily maintenance costs, the numbers, and types of vassals or N. present, all sorts of magical traps and gimmicks and so on. In other words, it can record the names of all the N. made by the guild members. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. If it could still function like in YGGDRASIL, one could access this system from anywhere. However, after some experimentation, the system could only be operated from the heart of the dungeon, the Throne Room. Additionally, the system is also capable of verifying an N.P.C's current allegiance.

_**Defense System:**_ The Great Tomb of Nazarick has a defense system managed by Albedo, so to keep the invaders occupied upon entering the various floors from within inside the tomb's domain itself. If the supreme ones did give Albedo the command to do so, she can even use booby traps that cost money. This would include spraying poisonous gas or create sudden floods of the undead. Avoiding the use of money to activate traps, however, Albedo can instead use the defense system for POPs and traps with serfs. After Nazarick is transported into the New World, friendly fire is no longer disabled whereas it was in the game. As a result, if someone like Albedo and the others attempt to observe someone else through surveillance magic, the latter would automatically respond in kind with a magical counterattack of his own. In the worst-case scenario, if it does happen, the counterattack would be overlapped with Nazarick's defensive network, leaving both sides clashing against one another. However this can lead to unnecessary damage for Nazarick as they can become prone to getting hit by magical attacks from one another if not handled carefully.

_**Mercenary System:**_ Otherwise, known as the automatic spawn system. This system would only produce monsters that were level 40 at most. They were the POPs, in other words, monsters that are automatically spawned by it from within YGGDRASIL. On the other hand, there are other types of monsters much higher in level than 40 alone which can also be summoned but done so through YGGDRASIL's gold coins. For instance, Hanzo being a level 80 can be summoned along with Lip Bug or even Greater Doppelgängers. The Mercenary N. have poor management of aggro. High-level vassals that the Floor Guardians had brought along were beings created through YGGDRASIL's mercenary system and required expenditures of in-game currency or real money. The former could be created again for free if they were destroyed, but the money spent on the latter would be wasted if they died.

_**Ariadne System:**_ Back then during YGGDRASIL, this system can only be triggered if the invaders were to be locked up. It was a system that checks the validity of a created base. However, there was no guarantee that whether or not this rule still applied in the New World. In order to stop one from creating such an invincible fortress, it was a reason why Ariadne surveillance system existed for this sole purpose. Other things Ariadne inspected were the distance one could travel inside, how many doors there were and various other rules on base construction that were set in detail. Dungeons that violated the rules would be flagged by the YGGDRASIL system and fined. As a result, the guild funds would be deducted gradually at a visible rate. For Nazarick, however, such problems were already solved by the 5th and 6th levels due to the guild having to pay a lot to widen the dungeon, so it can be maintained this long until now.

_**Patrol System: **_Albedo had designed this system with the purpose of deliberately leaving gaps in the surface patrol routes to create opportunities suitable for invasion. This was because it had been considered that the enemy would immediately pounce on any weaknesses in the security system once they were found and draw up plans designed to capitalize on them. However, any such gaps in Nazarick's patrols were under remote observation, which meant that there was no actual weakness. This was a strategy to make the enemy think they had exploited the vulnerability and thus, lure them into a trap.

Circular Notice System: It is a courier message system devised and created the entire guild Ainz Ooal Gown. The function of this memo folder would accessible allow Floor Guardians to be able to write down non-urgent messages and communicate with each other.

**there will be thing added later on**


	8. Chapter 5 - The Ultimate Adventurer team

**CHAPTER 5**

**The Ultimate Adventure Team**

The Supreme Ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had a luxurious office.

Said office was filled with tasteful and exotic furniture, every single piece being of exquisite design and decoration. The crimson carpet upon the floor was thick and soft, swallowing the footsteps of those who trod upon it. Flags bearing assorted insignia hung upon the walls in the depths of the room.

An imposing mahogany desk sat in the center of the office. Its owner sat behind it, upon a black leather chair.

If one were to describe that man in one phrase — dressed as he was in a long, black robe which seemed to absorb the light — then he would have to be an "Overlord of Death."

His exposed head was a fleshless skull. The points of crimson light within its empty eye sockets were blended with faint traces of darkness.

This was the man once known as Momonga, who had now taken on the name of the guild, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz meshed his skeletal fingers together. The nine rings on those fingers glittered as they reflected the magical radiance of 「Continual Light」 spells.

"Good grief… where shall I go from here?"

YGGDRASIL was a Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, which allowed its players to immerse themselves in virtual reality and experience their adventures within the game world with their own bodies. It had been eight days since its last day of service — when Ainz had been mysteriously transferred to a new world in the form of his character from the game.

During this time, Ainz had studied the conditions and vassals of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and learned about the various differences between this place and the game world. Now, he was deciding on what he should do next.

"All shall proceed as you desire," the beautiful woman replied to Ainz's muttering.

She was a world class beauty in a pure white dress, whose faint smile made her resemble a goddess. Her long black hair was lustrous and silky, in stark contrast with the color of her dress, and it reached down to her waist. However, she was not a human being.

Her golden pupils were vertically slit, and a pair of curling, ram-like horns protruded from both her temples. In addition, a pair of black-feathered wings grew from her hips and covered her legs.

"Is that so, Albedo? I am pleased by your loyalty."

She was the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Albedo. She was the Non-Player Character (NPC) who was in charge of the seven Floor Guardians.

When Ainz and his guildmates built the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick in the past, Albedo had been created as to work for them as an underling. However, she was now sentient and had pledged her undying loyalty to Ainz.

While this situation pleased Ainz, on the flip side of things, he had only been a lowly salaryman in his previous life, and so all this placed a great deal of stress on him, be it from having to act like a proper master in front of his subordinates or running Nazarick smoothly as its ruler.

The biggest problem was the sheer lack of information about this new world he currently inhabited.

"…Then, how about the next report?"

"Here, Lord Ainz."

Ainz accepted the document from Albedo and immediately began scanning through it. The circular characters had been written with a fountain pen.

This particular report came from Aura Bella Fiora, Guardian of the Sixth Floor.

It stated that they had not yet made contact with YGGDRASIL players like Ainz, nor had they found any trace of them. She had done a search of the forest near the Great Underground Tomb, and she had found a lake among the foothills of the mountain range at the end of the forest.

Ainz nodded. Relief flooded through him as he learned that they had not found the beings in this world of which he was most wary — other players.

"I understand. Tell Aura and her people to continue carrying out my orders."

"Unders—"

A quiet knocking came from the door. Albedo glanced at Ainz's expression, then bowed deeply and headed to the door. After verifying the identity of the visitor, Albedo replied:

"Shalltear seeks an audience."

"Shalltear? That's fine, let her in."

After receiving Ainz's permission to enter, a girl of around fourteen years of age elegantly entered the office.

She wore a black ballroom gown with a bell-like skirt. Her skin was as pale as wax, and her perfectly proportioned face was that of a world class beauty. Her long silver hair swayed as she walked, her ample bosom — which did not match her age — wobbled mightily with every step that she took.

She was the Guardian of the First to Third Floors, the "True Ancestor," Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"Greetings, Lord Ainz."

"The same to you, Shalltear. Why have you come to my room today?"

"Naturally, it was to admire your handsome features, Lord Ainz."

While there was obviously no expression on Ainz's skeletal face, the crimson points of light in his eye sockets flared brightly.

At first, he wanted to tell her to dispense with the pleasantries, but Ainz swallowed those words. However, he could see the smile on Albedo's face twisting as she looked upon Shalltear's crimson eyes, whose pupils were slowly filling with arousal.

It was still a smile, and her beauty was not diminished in the slightest, but it was no longer a pleasant expression.

Rather, it resembled the grinning of a demon.

Still, Ainz quietly breathed a sigh of relief, because Albedo was staring at Shalltear, and not himself.

"Then, seeing as you have looked at your fill, you may leave, Shalltear. Lord Ainz and I are currently deciding the future of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Would you mind not interfering with our important work?"

"…It is basic courtesy to greet someone politely before launching into the main issue… aged old hags are so annoying. Could it be they're desperate because they're past their expiry date?"

"…Don't you think that food without an expiry date because it's stuffed full of preservatives is the same as poison? Expired food would be safer compared to that, don't you think?"

"…I'd advise you not to look down on food poisoning. You might get an infection."

"…The important thing is whether it can be eaten, right? Compared to what looks like a large display of food, but the truth is… well, you know what I mean, right?"

"…A food display? You'll die for that, bitch."

"…Now who's the expired goods, hmph."

The looks on the feuding belles before Ainz could chill a hundred million year old love.

A flash of light appears in the room, as Karna step out.

He looked around and saw a confused and scared Ainz and saw the two thirsty women. Karna decided to speak up before the two of them could no longer hold their impulses back and started ripping into each other.

"That's enough playing around, you two."

Their faces blossomed into beaming smiles as they heard his command. Their previous expressions were gone, and now they were but two innocent, adorable girls.

'Women are really scary… no, it's just these two who are especially scary… thanks Karna'

After becoming undead, any strong emotions Ainz experienced were immediately suppressed. Even so, he felt that the speed at which they had changed their expression was quite frightening.

The two of them were at each other's throats because they were rivals in love.

Albedo and Shalltear were both infatuated with Ainz. Any man who was unhappy with receiving the affections of two such gorgeous women was no man at all.

However, Ainz could not bring himself to accept their feelings just like that.

The main reason was because the necrophiliac Shalltear had once whispered sweetly into his ear, "This beautiful bone structure must have come from the hands of a divine Creator."

To Shalltear, these words might have been a mumbled expression of love — or perhaps they were praise — but they were a great shock to Ainz. After all, this was the first time in his life that he had been complimented on his looks — but it was as a skeleton. It had been several days since then, but he was still shaken.

Ainz shook his head to banish those meaningless memories and look at his friend.

What are you doing here Karna?"

Albedo And Shalltear bow before Karna as was next to Ainz.

"Checking up on you, so what were you three doing?"

"Well Shalltear just came in and now I'm going to ask why"

"So I ask you once more, Shalltear. Do you have anything else for me?"

"Yes. I will be meeting Sebas afterwards in order to fulfill the task set to me. Since I may not be able to return to Nazarick for some time, I came to bid farewell to you before I left."

Ainz remembered that he had given her such a task, and nodded.

"I see. Then, Shalltear, take care when accomplishing your task and return home safely."

"Yes my lords!" she replied in a bright and clear voice.

"Then, you may leave, Shalltear. Also, as you go, tell Narberal or Entoma to send Demiurge over. Tell him I need to discuss contingency plans with him." Karna said as he turned to Albedo "and can step out of the room for just a moment Albedo, I want to talk with Ainz alone".

"Understood, Lord Karna ." Albedo and Shalltear both bowed and left the room.

—-—-

The Fortress City of E-Rantel stood at the intersection of three borders — those of the Slaine Theocracy, the Baharuth Empire, and the Re-Estize Kingdom. It was so named because it was defended by three layers of walls. The districts enclosed by each concentric circle of the walls were distinctly different from each other.

The outermost district was sometimes used to billet the troops from the Royal Army, and so it was fully furnished with barracks and other military facilities.

The innermost district was the administrative area of the city. In addition, the district also contained storehouses for combat rations. Thus, it was heavily guarded.

Between these two areas was the residential district, where the people of E-Rantel made their homes. This place best fit the image that came to mind when one thought of a city.

There were several plazas here, and the largest of them was called the Central Plaza. It was filled with stalls selling vegetables, spices, and other such commercial products.

Amidst the crowds, the stall owners energetically shouted their sales pitches to the people walking by, while the older women haggled with the merchants as they looked for fresh food. Drawn by fragrant scents, young men purchased skewers of roasted meat which oozed with warm juices.

The rowdy, energetic atmosphere of this place should have lasted until the sun went down. However, it suddenly went silent as a group of figures emerged from a five story building nearby.

Everyone in the plaza froze where they stood, their eyes were drawn to the four of them.

One of these four people was a girl who looked to be in her late teens. Her tapered eyes gleamed like onyxes, while her thick and lustrous black hair was tied into a ponytail. Her snow white skin shone like pearls in the sun.

What drew their attention most was the air of elegance which surrounded her, followed closely by her exotic beauty that would make anyone do a double take. Although the dark brown robe she wore was plain in make, it looked like an opulent dress on her.

The gender of her partner was unclear. Or rather, there was no way to tell her partner's gender.

Someone muttered, "Dark Warrior."

Indeed, that person was sheathed in an intricately engraved suit of full plate armor that was edged in gold. There was no way to see that person's face through the narrow slits of the closed helm which that person wore. A pair of greatswords were visible below that person's flowing red cape, and they looked as impressive as that person's armor.

Next to the armor giant was another man who's hair was ethereal white. He wore a high collar red cloak that covered up to his mouth, the red cloak also had fur covering his right shoulder. on it back was a golden symbol that resembled an eye. Under the red cloak he wears a full body black suit with red trimming and light armor. On it back was and 4 blade that was hidden by the red cloak he wore.

Beside him was the most beautiful woman ever. Her beauty could only be classified as a world class beauty, with silver hair and smooth pale skin that was white as snow and golden eyes that was pure as holy light, she was beyond beautiful. Her attire only helped to further her out-worldly beauty, she wore a short black vest which coated over a dark almost black purple dress that exposes her midriff. The dress stretched down and split down slightly from the center exposing a sum of her thigh, but it was mostly covered by dark black armor that cover her legs. The same black armor covered both of her arms but exposes her shoulder, by her waist was a sheath that held a beautiful and decorated sword.

The two of them looked around, and the fully armored person took a step forward, he was probably their leader.

The onlookers watched the group vanish into the distance, and then immediately began whispering about what they had seen. They did not seem afraid of their arms and armor.

That was because the building the pair had just left was called the "Adventurer's Guild," It was a place that only monster-hunting professionals would visit, so it was hardly strange to see armed people coming out of there. In fact, several other similarly equipped people had left the building in the meantime. Those with keen eyes might have noticed a pair of copper plates hanging around the necks of that pair.

That said, the four of them had drawn all that attention because of the two women's beauty and bother of their partner's magnificent set of armor.

The group walked quietly down a narrow road.

Sunlight reflected off the water caught in wagon-ruts on the road. Unlike proper cobbled roads, said water mixed with the earth and sand, which made for treacherous footing. A moment's carelessness might have led to a fall, but the two of them possessed excellent balance, and so they moved along the road almost as quickly as a proper one.

After verifying that there was nobody else around them, the light-footed woman turned to the fully-armored person and the white haired man beside her and said:

"My lor—"

"—No, my name is Momon and this is Siegfried and this is Artoria and you are not Narberal Gamma, battle maid of the Pleiades of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, but Nabe, Momon, Siegfried and Artoria adventuring partner."

The person in full plate — Ainz — interrupted the girl — Narberal — halfway through her reply.

"Ah! My apologies, Lord Momon."

"don't call any of us lord, we are simple adventurers, and companions. It would be weird to address me like that." Ainz said.

"B-But! How could I possibly be so disrespectful to the Supreme One!?"

Siegfried gestured at Narberal to keep her voice down. She had raised it in her excitement. Then, in a tone that was somewhere between resignation and helplessness, he replied:

"Like I've already said, several times, in this place I am Siegfried the Dark… no, just Siegfried and you are our partner. So don't call us lord. That's an order Narberal."

After a short silence, Narberal reluctantly replied:

"Understood, lo- Siegfried si-r."

'This is as close as I'm gonna get huh…'

"Forget it, this is fine too. Actually, dropping the sir would be good as well. After all, how shall I say this, addressing your partner as sir might make people think there's a distance between us."

"But… would that not be too disrespectful...?"

Siegfried shrugged as Narberal mumbled.

"We cannot reveal our true identities. You understand that, right?" Ainz asked.

"Of course."

"...Your tone… mm, forget it. In any case… what I want to say is that you must be very careful in your words and actions." Ainz said.

"...Understood, Momon si-r. However, is it really all right for me to accompany you? Would not the beautiful and gentle lady Albedo be better for this task?"

"Albedo…"

Ainz's words betrayed his complicated feelings as he replied:

"I need her to manage Nazarick for me while I am travelling."

"...Though I fear to offend you, could the task of running Nazarick not be given to lord Cocytus? The Guardians all say this too… that for the sake of your safety, lady Albedo is the best choice as your companion. Do you not think so?"

Narberal's question made Ainz smile bitterly.

Among all the Guardians, Albedo had objected the most strenuously when Ainz had announced his decision to visit E-Rantel. It began when she learned that she would not be able to accompany Ainz on his journey.

After the transition to this mysterious new world, Ainz had gone for a walk without his vassals, something which Albedo blamed herself for. Thus he could not rebuke her too harshly. However, this was a deliberate expedition, unlike the stroll he had taken last time, and so he had to stick to his guns.

As a Guardian she would obey his orders without fail, even if they conflicted with her own opinions. Yet, Ainz did not think of that as a good thing. All the Guardians were the product of his fellow guild members' hard work, and he felt guilty about forcing his will upon them.

Therefore, Ainz tried to persuade Albedo — who staunchly disagreed with him — to come around to his way of thinking. However, neither of them could accept the other's opinions. At first, Ainz thought they would be deadlocked forever, but after Demiurge whispered something into Albedo's ear, her resistance suddenly evaporated. In the end, she fully approved of his journey and even sent him off with a smile.

Until now, he still did not know what Demiurge had said to her. Ainz was a little uneasy about what could have made Albedo reverse her opinion so suddenly.

"...We did not bring her along because we trust her more than anyone else. It is because she is in Nazarick that we can leave it in peace." Artoria said.

"I see! In other words, lady Albedo is the very important to you?"

While they did not reply, "Mm, well, kind of," Ainz did nod in response to Narberal's question.

"We are fully aware that this is potentially dangerous." Artoria stated.

"However, we must go in person. If we stay in Nazarick, there is a chance that we might have made a miscalculation. Therefore, we need to personally make contact with the outside world… indeed, there are other methods we could use, but all of them make us uneasy, given that there is so little we know about the situation."

Narberal replied, "I see," with a look of understanding on her face.

Ainz narrowed his eyes at her through the slits of his helmet, and then asked in a somewhat uneasy tone:

"Incidentally, I have a question… Do you think humans are inferior lifeforms?"

"Yes, they are. Humans are worthless trash."

Narberal delivered her answer with firm conviction and without a moment's hesitation. The sun god and the holy saint did nothing but sigh while the overlord of death muttered, 'Her too!' but his muttering was too soft to reach Narberal ears.

After that, Ainz continued grumbling, "I didn't want to bring her along because her personality makes her react poorly to humans. Looks like I should have been certain of my subordinates' personalities beforehand. "

One of the reasons why he had not taken Albedo with him was because she firmly believed that humans were inferior lifeforms. If he brought someone like that into a highly populated city and then took his eyes off her for just a moment, there was a very real possibility that he might look back to find a gore soaked abattoir. In addition, Albedo had no disguise skills and could not conceal her horns and wings, which was another point against her.

The greatest reason, however, was one that he could never speak out loud.

That was the fact that Ainz was a mere salaryman, and he had no confidence in running an organization if he had to rely on reports from others, with no direct observation on his part. Because of that, he handed the task of managing the Nazarick to the talented Albedo. If one had a capable subordinate, allowing them to take charge was a wise gesture; interference from an incompetent superior would only lead to tragedy.

In addition Albedo was bound to Ainz by the twin shackles of "love" and "loyalty." That was why Ainz could leave the operations of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick to her.

Love, huh...

Every time he saw Albedo, and every time she declared her love for him, Ainz was reminded of the mistake he made in altering Albedo's settings. Indeed, in the last moments before the game ended, he had changed Albedo's character settings so that she would deeply love Momonga — in other words, Ainz. Of course, he did not know that he would be transported to this new world. It had merely been a final, little joke.

Still, when he thought about it — even if Albedo did not mind — what would his friend Tabula Smaragdina think about what Ainz had done?

What if it were himself? What if his comrades had interfered with his hand-created NPC...

Worse still, he had made use of Albedo's absolute loyalty toward him for his own gain. He hated himself for that.

Ainz shook his head to clear away these dark thoughts. Although his undead body automatically suppressed any strong emotions he felt, he still experienced petty emotions like those as keenly as he had when he was human. When he fully assumed an undead state of mind, perhaps he would no longer feel that sense of guilt.

Distracted by these thoughts, the helmed Ainz turned to Narberal and said:

"...Nabe, I won't tell you to cast away those thoughts, but at the very least, you must control yourself. This is a human town, and we do not know what exceptional individuals they have among them. Therefore, we should try our best not to make enemies." Artoria firmly said.

Narberal bowed deeply to her to show her loyalty and obedience. Artoria extended her hand to her, to bid her raise her head. Then she continued:

"There is one more thing. When we intend to fight in earnest, we might radiate a… killing intent, which humans might be able to sense. Well, something like that might happen. Therefore, you are not to get serious without my our permission. Do you understand?"

"I understand, mistress Artoria."

'Mistress?!'

"Just Artoria is fine Narberal… Then, the inn we heard about should be nearby."

—-

There were several shops open for business nearby, their customers filing in and out of them. To the side were several people in work aprons, carrying goods.

In this densely populated commercial district, Ainz, Siegfried, Artoria and Nabe had to look for the inn by inspecting the pictures on the shops' signs. This was because no one could read this country's language.

Before long, Artoria found the picture that they were looking for. Their steps quickened, and Nabe followed suit.

Ainz scraped off the mud caked on his sabatons, climbed the steps to the western-style saloon doors, and opened them with both hands.

The windows were closed, and so the interior was somewhat dark. People who were used to the light outside would probably not be able to see their hands stretched out in front of their faces. However, Ainz possessed darkvision, and he could see clearly with this meager amount of illumination.

The inside of the building was quite spacious. The first floor was a dining area, with a counter further within. That counter was backed by shelves that contained dozens of bottles of alcohol. The door beside the counter most likely led to a kitchen.

A spiral staircase turned up in the corner of the dining area. According to the receptionist at the guild, the guest rooms were located on the second and third floors. One could see the scattered customers within seated around several round tables. Almost all of them were men, and the promise of violence hung heavily over them.

Everyone's attention was on Ainz and Siegfried but it was mostly on Artoria and nabe because of their beauty. They looked at them with lust and some was looking at them as though they were sizing them up. The only person who did not pay attention to the group was a woman seated in a corner. She was staring intently at a small bottle on her table.

This tavern scene made Ainz furrow his nonexistent brows under his helmet.

He had expected this sort of thing, but this place was filthier than he had imagined.

There were dirty and disgusting places in YGGDRASIL, of course. Even the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick which Ainz and his friends ruled over contained such places, such as Kyouhukou's room, the Venomous Cave, and so on.

However, the filth here was different from those places.

The floor was covered in scraps of mysterious food and unknown liquids, while the walls were stained and there were chunks of some moldy substance in the corners of the room...

Ainz sighed internally, and looked into the tavern.

A man in a dirty apron stood there, his stout arms protruding from his rolled-up sleeves. They were covered in several scars, and Ainz could not tell if they were caused by the claws of wild beasts or by blades of some sort.

He looked somewhere between imposing and bestial, and there were scars on his face as well. His head was shaved completely bald, without a single hair left standing on his scalp.

This man, who looked more like a bouncer than an innkeeper, sized up Ainz as he held a mop in one hand.

"A room, huh. For how long?" a voice like a broken bell called out to Ainz.

"We wish to stay for one night."

The innkeeper replied crudely, "...All copper plate, huh. A night is five coppers. The food's oatmeal and vegetables; meat's an extra copper. Might be getting days-old bread instead of oatmeal."

"If it is at all possible, I would like a double room as well." Siegfried asked.

Siegfried thought he could hear the man snorting.

"...In this town, there's three inns that cater to adventurers, and mine's the worst of these three… you know why the guild sent you here?"

"I do not. Could you tell me why?" Artoria asked despite the fact that she already knew the reason.

Faced with Artoria answer, the innkeeper furrowed his frown and turned a frightening look upon her.

"Use your brains a little kid! Or is that flashy head piece of yours hiding a head with no brain, huh!?"

Jeanne remained calm, despite the innkeeper's annoyed retort. Though she did clench her fist because the innkeeper talk to her in such a manner perhaps her ability to weather this childish tantrum was the result of experiencing that battle several days ago.

That battle — as well as the information squeezed out of the prisoners they had taken — had allowed Jeanne and her friend to understand how powerful they were. Because of that, she could calmly face this shouting.

Karna glared, his razor sharp eyes pierced the innkeeper like a blade. He seemed to have noticed and was slightly afraid but he stood his ground and so no fear on his face.

However, the innkeeper seemed surprised to see Laeticia reaction, and said:

"...You've got some guts, huh… The people who stay here are mostly copper or iron plate adventurers. If you've got some strength, you can form a party here, if you're lucky. Therefore, there's no better place than this to find party members whose strength matches yours…"

Something seemed to flash through the innkeeper's eyes.

"It's fine if you want to sleep in a room, but if you don't make contacts here, you won't be able to find party members. If you can't form a well-balanced, strong team, you'll die out there against the monsters. That's why novices with no comrades advertise themselves in places with a lot of people. So I'll ask you one more time: do you want to sleep in the dormitory or in a double room, huh?"

"I already have a team, if no trouble we would like a double room. And I'll pass on the food."

"Cheh, kids who doesn't appreciate others kindness… or are you trying to say that you're something else and those fancy gears isn't for show? Ah, forget it, that'll be seven coppers a night. Upfront, of course."

The innkeeper extended his hand in one smooth motion.

Siegfried stepped forward, followed by his friends and Narberal. The four of them were bathed in the appraising looks of everyone in the room — when suddenly, someone stuck a foot into Siegfried path, as though to prevent him from moving forward.

Siegfried halted, and turned to the man who had stuck his foot out.

He had an annoying smile on his face, which was mirrored by everyone else at his table. They stared at Siegfried, Ainz and especially at Artoria and Narberal.

Neither the innkeeper or the other customers stepped forward to stop this. They were watching silently.

Although everyone seemed to be uninterested in the proceedings, or looking forward to a good show, there were quite a few of them who were intently studying the situation.

Give me a break...

Siegfried sighed, and lightly kicked away the foot in front of him.

The man suddenly stood up, as though he had been waiting just for that. Since he was unarmored, his bulging muscles were clearly visible under his clothes. He had a necklace like Ainz did, but his was an iron plate, which swayed as the man moved.

"Oi, oi, that hurt."

The man approached Siegfried, speaking in a threatening manner as he did. He had a gauntlet on his hand, which he must have put on while standing up. It creaked as he clenched his fist.

The two of them were roughly the same height, and they glared at each other with wrathful eyes. It seemed a bit too close for a fistfight. Ainz decided to fire the first shot:

"Is that so? I must have missed the foot in front of me, sorry it probably your leg was just too short… well, that's my excuse, can you forgive me for that?"

"...Bastard."

A dangerous look crept into the man's eyes as Siegfried taunt sank in. However, he turned his angry gaze to Artoria and Narberal, who was standing behind Ainz, plastering his eyes on them.

"You're an annoying fellow… But I'm a generous man. As long as you lend me your womens for a night, I'll forgive you."

"Tehhhaa..."

Siegfried could not help but sneer at the man, Ainz slightly raised his hand to keep Narberal from stepping forward.

"...What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I couldn't help but laugh at the way you sound like a stereotypical punk. Don't worry about it."

"Wha?"

The angry man's face flushed red.

"Ah, before we start, can I ask a question? Are you stronger than Gazef Stronoff?"

"Wha? The hell are you talking about?"

"I see, it's all clear from your reaction. If it's like that, then I won't even need to play with you."

Siegfried swiftly grabbed the man by the neck, and then hoisted his body off the ground. The man was frozen in fear as look in Siegfrieds eyes.

The man could not even dodge, much less resist the sudden clinch. He went, "Uoh!" in surprise as he was lifted up. The men around him who were watching the show only added to the excitement. How strong was this guy, if he could lift a grown man with one arm? The imaginations of everyone present were now considering that topic.

A wave of surprise and consternation swept the inn. As though to shatter the atmosphere of shock in the air, Siegfried raised the man — whose legs were dangling and kicking furiously — and gently tossed him away.

Well, it was gentle for Siegfried.

The thrown man flew in a neat trajectory with frightening speed, skimming the ceiling as he went, and fell heavily to the ground.

The sound of the man's body striking a nearby table, an object on the table breaking, the planks of the table splitting apart and the man's own howls of pain blended together and echoed through the tavern. Then, the whole place fell silent, as though startled by the noise. However—

"Ogyaaaa—!"

—A beat later, the woman seated at that table emitted a strange wail. It was a cry of despair that a soul might make as it rose to heaven.

No, it would only be natural to scream like this if a man suddenly fell out of the sky and landed in front of someone. There was another reason here, mixed into the shocked cry.

"...Then, what do the rest of you plan to do? Can you save us the trouble and come all at once? It's foolish to waste time on things like this."

Ainz's words were directed at the other men seated at the table of the fellow he had just thrown. They immediately got his meaning, and hurriedly lowered their heads.

"Ah? N-No! Our buddy offended you! We're very sorry!"

"...Mm. I forgive you. Besides, it hardly inconvenienced me. However, you had best pay the innkeeper for that table."

"Of, of course! We will pay the full price!"

Just as Ainz felt the matter was at an end and turned away, a voice froze him in his tracks.

"Wait wait wait!"

Turning around, he saw the woman who had made that weird cry just now. She was stomping up to him.

She looked to be in her twenties or younger, and her red hair was messily-cut, yet at a good length for movement. It could not be described as neat by any stretch of the word. To be more precise, it resembled a bird's nest.

She had a pretty face and a keen edge to her eyes. She did not wear makeup, and her healthy body was tanned brown by the sun. Her arms were muscular and her palms were covered in calluses from wielding a sword. The word that first came to mind when he saw her was not "woman," but "warrior."

A small iron plate hung around her chest, and it shook mightily with every step she took.

"See what you've done!"

"What have we done?"

"Hah!? Don't you even know what you did?"

The woman pointed at the shattered table.

"You threw that guy over and broke my potion, my precious potion!"

"And?"

"And!? You—!"

Her gaze sharpened further, and her tone was low and dangerous.

"Pay me back for my potion."

"...It's just a potion…"

"...I starved and scrimped and saved to buy that potion today! And now you broke it! I've always believed that I could get through a dangerous adventure as long as I had a potion, but now you've shattered my hopes and dreams! And you've still got an attitude like that? Ahhhh, it makes me so mad!"

The woman drew closer to Ainz.

It seemed like a wild bull had just seen red and was approaching him.

Ainz suppressed a sigh at himself. Indeed, he had made a mistake by throwing the man without thinking about where he might land. However, Ainz had his own reasons for not paying compensation that easily.

"...How about asking that man to pay you back? If he hadn't stuck his short leg out, this tragedy would not have taken place. Am I wrong?"

Ainz's gaze swept across the man's buddies through the slit of his helmet.

"Ah, yes, that's right…"

"However…"

"Forget it, I don't care who pays me back as long as it's a potion or its equivalent in cash… although, that potion was worth one gold and ten silvers."

The men lowered their heads. It would seem they did not have the money to pay. Thus, the girl turned on Ainz again.

"As I thought, these drunkards wouldn't have that sort of money. Well, seeing as you're dressed in such a flashy suit of armor, surely you must have a healing potion, right?"

No wonder, Ainz thought. So that was why this woman was asking Ainz to pay up.

He thought briefly about it, composed himself, and replied:

"It's not like I don't... although, that was a recovery potion, am I correct?"

"Indeed. I saved up for every little—"

"—All right, I get it, that's enough. I'll pay you back with another potion, and we'll be even."

Ainz handed her a Minor Healing Potion. She looked at the potion bottle in surprise, then reluctantly accepted it.

"...This should be fine, right?"

"...Mm, I guess."

The woman seemed to have more to say, but Ainz cast aside his doubts. The more important thing was his uneasiness over whether Narberal would do something big and blow their cover.

Narberal still had a combative look in her eyes, even though Ainz had already chided her. Some of them seemed to sense her hostility and felt uneasy.

"Let's go," Ainz curtly told Narberal and his friends. They went before the innkeeper and Ainz withdrew a single silver piece from his leather purse before placing it on the crudely-made counter.

The innkeeper silently slipped it into his pants pocket and returned Ainz several copper pieces.

"Mm. Here's six coppers back."

He placed the copper coins onto Ainz's gauntleted hand, and then laid a small key on the counter.

"First room on the right once you go up the stairs. You can put your gear into the chests at the foot of the bed. This goes without saying, but don't barge into people's rooms without permission. Might lead to trouble if someone gets the wrong idea. Although, it's a pretty good way to let people know you. You look like the sort who can handle all kinds of problems. Just don't give me a problem."

The innkeeper narrowed his eyes at the man that Ainz had thrown, who was moaning on the floor.

"Understood. Also, I'll need a basic adventurer's kit for us. We've lost some of our things and the Guild said that you'd prepare one for us if we asked." Artoria asked.

The innkeeper looked at Artoria, and then looked straight at Siegfried purse.

"Mm, I got it. I'll get it ready by dinner. Just be ready to pay."

"Understood. Then, Nabe, let's go."

The four soon made their way up the old staircase. The wood creaked under their feet as they headed for their room.

—-

After Siegfried silhouette vanished up at the second floor, the buddies of the man which Siegfried threw rushed up and began casting curative magic on him. Their actions seemed to be the spark which caused the silent tavern to burst into clamor.

"...It seems he's as strong as he looks."

"Yeah, that's it. His arm strength is unbelievable, how did he train it?"

"He must be pretty confident to carry no weapons besides those two greatswords."

"Dammit, another guy's going to leap ahead of us as well."

The scattered conversations were filled with awe, surprise, and fear.

They all knew that the team of four was not an ordinary person.

The first reason for that they impress by their member impressive equipment. Full plate armor was hardly cheap, and one would need to have gone on many adventures — in other words, be an experienced adventurer — in order to purchase it. One would need to be at least a silver plate in order to accumulate enough capital for such a feat. However, some people inherited their suits from their predecessors, or found those suits on the battlefield or in ruins.

That was why they wanted to take a measure of his ability.

Everyone here was a comrade and a competitor at the same time. They all wanted to know the strength of any newcomers. The circumstances from just now had occurred in the past as well, over and over again.

The truth was, everyone here had experienced this sort of thing in the past. However, none of them had passed the test so easily before. In other words, that pair of copper ranked adventurers...

They would be very strong, either as rivals or allies. Everyone here was fully convinced of that.

"Now, how should we deal with those two?"

"Flirting with those two beautiful women is out of the question…"

"If only we could get them into our party…"

"You must be mistaken, we should be in their party."

"What does he look like under that helmet?"

"I'll go listen on their wall tonight."

"Didn't he mention the region's strongest man, Gazef Stronoff?"

"Could it be that he's a disciple of the Warrior-Captain?"

"That's certainly possible. Leave this task to a big-eared thief like me!"

As the crowd eagerly discussed the mysterious pair, the innkeeper walked up to one of the adventurers.

She was holding the potion Ainz had given her just now.

"Oi, Britta."

"Hm? What?"

The woman — Britta — turned her eyes away from staring at the red potion and looked disinterestedly at the innkeeper.

"What kind of potion is that?"

"Who knows?"

"...Oi oi, you don't know either? You accepted his potion as compensation, shouldn't you know its value?"

"How could I? Besides, I've never seen a potion like this before. Gramps, you came here because you were curious too, right?"

Britta was right.

"Does it cover the value of your potion that got smashed? This might end up being cheaper than the one you bought."

"That's true. It's definitely a gamble, but the one I'm confident of winning. This was something that guy in the flashy armor gave me after he heard the price of my potion."

"I see…"

"...I've never seen a healing potion of this color before. It might be a rare treasure. If I delayed and he said he would pay in cash, I'd be coming back from the dragon's den with nothing to show for it, right? In any case, I'll take it for appraisal tomorrow and find out how much it's worth."

"Oh, in that case, I'll cover the appraisal fee for you. In fact, I'll even recommend a good place for you to visit."

"You will, gramps?"

Britta furrowed her brows. The innkeeper was a good man, but he was hardly a Good Samaritan either. He must have something in mind.

"Ah, don't look at me like that. I just want you to tell me the effects of this potion."

"So it's a trade, then?"

"Hey, it's a good trade, right? Besides, I can recommend a really good herbalist to you through my connections. I'm talking about that Lizzie Bareare."

Britta's eyes went wide with surprise.

E-Rantel was a place with many mercenaries and adventurers. It specialized in selling weapons and other items to these people, and among them the trade in potions was quite brisk. Therefore, E-Rantel had more herbalists than a normal city.

Amidst this fierce competition, Lizzie Bareare had earned fame as the best herbalist in the region. She could make the most complex potions of all herbalists in the city. Since the innkeeper had mentioned her by name, Britta had no way of refusing his offer.

The wooden door closed with a thud.

—-

The room was bare, apart from a pair of crudely-made bed frames with accompanying chests. After opening the windowblinds, they could directly feel the sunlight and outside air.

Ainz, Siegfried and Artoria was somewhat disappointed as they finished their circular sweep of the room. Although they could not expect Nazarick-level furnishings and cleanliness in a godforsaken place like this, he still wanted to get out of here.

"I can't believe he would dare let you stay in a place like this, my lords."

"Don't say that, Nabe. Our aim is to become adventurers, and then increase our fame to the point where everyone knows of us. Until then, it won't hurt to experience the life of a newbie." Artoria optimistically said.

Artoria tried to soothe Narberal after closing the window blinds, without expressing her own dissatisfaction. There was not enough sunlight coming in through the blinds to light up the entire room. Ainz, Siegfried, Artoria and Nabe both possessed darkvision, so it was hardly an obstacle to them, but for a normal person, this room would be so dark that they would have trouble seeing.

"Still… the life of an adventurer is pretty banal." Siegfried said.

Adventurers.

Once, Siegfried dreamed about that profession.

He envisioned them as people who chased after the unknown and had adventures in various parts of the world. Siegfried had previously thought that adventurers were a physical manifestation of the right way to play YGGDRASIL, but after listening to the Guild receptionist, he realised that adventuring was a more realistic and more boring job than he had expected.

Simply put, adventurers were "anti-monster mercenaries."

Although some parts of it fit his dreams of them — for instance, delving into the ruins of kingdoms destroyed by the Demon Gods two hundred years ago and investigating mysteries in uncharted lands — for the most part, they were simply monster hunters.

Every monster possessed different special abilities, so they could only be taken care of by people who knew more tricks than average soldiers.

Just going by that point, one might think that they were heroes who were loved and relied on by the common man, like in games.

However, the reality was somewhat different from that.

This was because the ruling authorities did not smile on the existence of armed groups which they could not control. Therefore, aside from the prices they commanded, adventurers did not have much status.

Another reason why adventurers were not accepted on a national scale was because of the same thinking which made companies look for cheap, local temps than employing expensive permanent staff. Thus, much like how temps were treated by companies who could get by without hiring them, adventurers were held in lower regard in those nations which could eliminate monsters by dint of their own military power.

According to the Guild receptionist, there were no adventurers in the Slaine Theocracy, while life had gotten worse for adventurers in the Baharuth Empire after the ascension of their new Emperor.

Siegfried banished his mild disappointment from his heart. It was a common thing in life to find that a job which one admired was hardly as glamorous in reality.

Artoria body glow as her armor disappears, she then proceeded to sit next to Siegfried on the bed.

Ainz did the same with a brief wave of Ainz hand, the black armor and the two greatswords on his back melted away into nothingness, and a skeleton bedecked in magic items was revealed.

He wore a pair of black mirrorshades and a red targeting sight. The silver circlet on his head was set with amethysts and thorns grew from it, making it look like a rose vine.

Then there were the long-sleeved shirt and slacks, made of a lustrous, gauzy black material. A black belt secured the pants around his waist.

Ainz took off the sturdy gauntlets, and there were rings on all his bony fingers save the left ring finger.

His half-boots were made of a reddish-brown leather, and they were embroidered with gold thread.

A silver necklace with a lion-head pendant hung around his neck, and around it was a red cape.

Magic items in YGGDRASIL were made by infusing an item skin with a data crystal, so it was quite difficult to coordinate their appearance. However, many players disliked wearing a clown suit, so after a certain update, players were given several ways to change their equipment's appearance without changing their gear.

The suit of finely articulated black plate armor, made by the 「Create Greater Item」 spell, was one of those ways.

Currently, Ainz was wearing Sure-Hit Glasses, a Crown of Mental Fortitude, Black Widow Spider Clothes, a Black Belt, the Jarngreipr from earlier, a Nemean Lion pendant, Haste Boots, among other items.

In YGGDRASIL, trading in magic items was usually done in the form of data crystals. However, there were people who sold second-hand items in order to make even stronger ones. It was at this point that a problem arose — the names of magic items made by other people might include forbidden language, or it might insult someone. Sometimes, the GMs would ask the players in question to rename the items.

In general, naming items was left to the fancy of the creator.

As a result, items with weird names were not very popular on the market. Although cash items which could rename them were not expensive, very few people wanted to make that expenditure.

Thus, every player racked their brains to give their items good names. Sometimes the names would be in English, or they would come from mythology.

Of course, there were exceptions to this as well.

For instance, naming rings was very troublesome, so most people tended to call them Ring1, Ring2, Ring3 and so on. Ainz had even seen someone who called them Thumb Ring, Index Finger Ring, Middle Finger Ring, and so on.

Ainz had a friend called Warrior Takemikazuchi, who wielded two katanas from time to time. He named one of them — the eighth of its line — "Takemikazuchi Mk 8."

The red cape he was wearing had also been named along that line of thought.

Inspired by an anti-hero from American comics, it was called the Necroplasmic Mantle.

All of these were relic class items. They were two tiers lower than Ainz's main gear, but he had considered that problems might arise from bringing items which were too strong, so he settled for equipment of this level.

Ainz worked his shoulders and savored the sensation of being free from his armor. Just then, Narberal asked a question:

"Speaking of which, how shall we deal with that annoying woman?"

"Ah, the one whose potion we broke? We don't need to split hairs with her. I'd be angry as well if someone broke something important to me." Artoria said.

Siegfried paused for a while, before continuing "...Well, probably. It's only natural for her to scold me for my carelessness."

"But all that was because a foolish human tried to provoke a Supreme Being. That man is the one who was to blame."

"Perhaps, but I was the one who threw that man. Therefore, I hope that you will be big hearted and forgive her. What we should be doing in this city is becoming a part of this world, to increase the renown of Momon, Siegfried, Artoria and Nabe. It would reflect badly on us if rumors spread that we could not even pay someone back the value of a single potion."

Narberal nodded, although she could not quite accept what Siegfried had said.

"Also, we should give her some face, since she's technically our senior in this field." Ainz said.

Ainz fiddled with the necklace he wore, though he kept his fingers away from the Nemean Lion.

If it's just a simple metal plate, then it can be forged… although that should probably be something for the Guild to worry about.

That small copper plate was something like a set of dog tags. It was what allowed people to know the strength of an adventurer.

Copper. Iron. Silver. Gold. Platinum. Mithril. Orichalcum. Adamantite.

The latter metals were more valuable, which meant that adventurers of those ranks could select more difficult and more rewarding quests. This was part of the system the Guild had developed to keep adventurers from going to pointless deaths.

Ainz, Siegfried, Laeticia are freshly-registered adventurer, was of the lowest class — copper. That woman was an iron plate. Showing her a basic level of courtesy was the secret of successfully blending into society.

"However, I feel that such soft metals like adamantite are not worthy of you, lord Ainz. Apoitakara, hihiirokane, or other prismatic metals would be more fitting of yourself. These people in the Guild have no taste at all."

The metals Narberal had named were of the highest tiers in YGGDRASIL. Ainz turned a sharp look on her, and then said:

"Narberal, just to be safe, call me by our allies while we are in this town."

"Understood, Momon si-r!"

"Do you need me to remind you again? Call us by our name, no sir."

"My, my deepest apologies, Siegfried… si-r."

"...Siegfried sir sounds kind of stupid, don't you think? Forget it, if it's hard for you to just call me Siegfried, then Siegfried-san will do. Got it?"

"I understand, Siegfried-san."

Once again, Narberal bowed deeply at the waist. Siegfried tapped at his forehead with a finger.

She has no idea why I want her to call me Siegfried-san. She's kind of useless… forget it, there's nobody else I can use for now, so I'll forgive her.

"This is our plan for the future—"

"Yes!"

Narberal promptly genuflected before the three. It was the attitude of a vassal awaiting orders.

An annoyed Ainz was, he had no idea how to proceed. Though he had locked the door after coming in, gossip would swiftly spread if people saw this scene.

Still… why doesn't she understand the reason that I want her to call me Momon? I even explained it to her before coming to the inn...

Artoria sigh and said:

"We are here to go undercover as adventurers in this city. This is because we have to collect information on adventurers — in other words, the strongest people in this world — though our emphasis will be on learning about YGGDRASIL players, like myself. Attaining higher ranks will allow us to take higher ranked jobs, which will also allow us to collect more reliable and useful information. Therefore, our first objective is to become successful adventurers."

After Narberal indicated that she understood, Artoria told her about the things she had to do.

"However, there are several problems at the moment."

Artoria withdrew her small purse and opened it, then dumped its contents onto her hand. They were coins, and there were very few of them. There was no glint of gold among the coin.

"To begin with, we have no money."

There were several reasons why Ainz had paid with a potion during the prior dispute. One of them was because no one was not confident they could solve this problem with money. Saying that he had no money to pay would be laughable.

Ainz turned to the surprised Narberal, and explained:

"No, I should say that we do have a lot of money, but the currency we have is largely YGGDRASIL gold coins. Therefore, I would like to use those gold coins as a last resort."

"Why is that? Haven't we already confirmed that YGGDRASIL coins have monetary value?" Narberal asked.

"Indeed, I learned from Carne Village that each YGGDRASIL gold coin is worth two of the local gold coins. However, if we use YGGDRASIL gold coins here, there's no telling where they'll end up. If things go bad, the news might spread beyond to others, and it'll be a blatant advertisement to other YGGDRASIL players that we're here. Therefore, we have to avoid that situation as long as we do not fully understand the situation." Siegfried replied.

"Players… entities on the same level as yourself, Lord Siegfried, and the villains who once attacked Nazarick."

Siegfried frowned as she referred to him as lord Siegfried, but he did not say anything, for the same reasons as just now.

"Indeed. They are people that cannot be taken lightly."

The guild of— Ainz Ooal Gown — level was the highest in YGGDRASIL, level one hundred. However, to players, being maximum level was hardly a rare thing. It could be said that most players were level one hundred.

Ainz considered himself to be among the upper-middle tier of the game's players. This was because he was focused on taking levels in classes to better roleplay an undead magic caster, and neglected raising his own power. However, given the divine class items he possessed, as well as his numerous cash items, he might be ranked in the middle of the top tier. Still, he could not take things easy. There was always a bigger fish, after all.

Thus, he had to avoid being found by other players, at any cost. There were many opponents Ainz could not defeat if he was drawn into battle.

However he was a lot more confident now that Jeanne and Karna was here. They were among the strongest in YGGDRASIL, easily in the top tier of players. In fact it was because they had so many top tier members in their guild that Ainz Ooal Gown was considered one of the top rank guilds of YGGDRASIL.

Touch-me: The World Champion.

Ulbert Alain Odle: The possessor of the World Disaster job class.

Karna: The Anti-Army player in YGGDRASIL.

Jeanne D'arc: The Holy Saint.

It was not just because of them that the guild was so powerful, but they were the most famous players in YGGDRASIL and that was the thing that gave the guild a head start. However there were still other players that could still be on par with them and in addition, there were many players who were human, and they would naturally protect other humans. If these players clashed with people like Albedo, who viewed humans as inferior lifeforms, the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — or Ainz Ooal Gown — might very well count humanity as enemies. That was another reason why he felt bringing Albedo along was dangerous.

Still, I didn't expect Narberal to feel the same way as well.

Ainz did not view humanity as an enemy, but he could kill human beings with no hesitation for the sake of his goals. Even so, he wanted to avoid conflict with other players.

"Well, that was a waste." Ainz sigh.

"What was a waste?" Artoria asked.

"I'm talking about how we lost Nigun so easily. He had a lot of information, but he perished under such simple questioning."

There were roughly ten people still alive from the members of the Sunlight Scripture captured at Carne Village. The rest died during questioning and became media for Ainz to summon undead with his skills.

As he recalled the information tortured out of his captives, Ainz could not help but mutter:

"Now that I think about it, most players would want to support the Slaine Theocracy…" Siegfried said.

The Slaine Theocracy was a religious nation which venerated the Six Gods, who descended upon the world six hundred years ago.

In the words of the Sunlight Scripture, the Slaine Theocracy fought to allow the weak human race to prosper, grow strong, and defeat other species. Any player with any remaining humanity would approve of the Slaine Theocracy's aims.

Unlike his own world, where humanity stood atop all living creatures in this world, humanity was one of the weakest species around.

Though they could build such an impressive city upon the plains, the fact that they had to live on the plains only highlighted humanity's weakness.

That said, plains were also dangerous places. Firstly, there was no place to hide, so it was easy to be discovered by the enemy. Only weak species, who lacked darkvision, would choose to live in a place like this. They would have no safe spaces or living room if they chose otherwise.

There were species who were physically stronger and possessed more advanced civilizations than humans, but they were not in control of the continent. This was because they had ended up fighting the Eight Greed Kings, who dominated this land five hundred years ago. Humanity was one of the few survivors of that war. If not, the human race would long since become extinct.

Any players in this world would want to help out humanity. That was why they were on guard against players and kept his distance from the Slaine Theocracy.

"In any case, I plan to sell off the swords taken from the Slaine Theocracy troops pretending to be knights... but before that, we need to get a job." Ainz said.

"Understood. Then, shall we visit the guild again tomorrow?" Narberal asked.

"Indeed. Although I'd like to learn more by walking around this city, we should leave that for after we've earned some money." Artoria said.

"I see. As a battle maid, I shall carry out your orders with all my strength."

"Is that so. Then, I'll be counting on you, Narberal." Artoria smiled

Artoria felt a warm glow of satisfaction as she watched Narberal bowing deeply. Then she cast a spell, and was wrapped in her armor and illusion once more, She stood up and was followed by Ainz and Siegfried, the three walked to the door.

"We will be inspecting our surroundings. You will stay here and wait for orders."

"Please allow me to come with you!"

"No, we're only looking around the neighborhood. I've heard of a large graveyard which we want to visit… and the other reason why you're staying here is to ward off intruders. You must stay on your guard and never slack off. While I don't think there's any vulnerabilities in our defenses for the moment, this place might well be considered enemy territory, so you must never relax."

"...Understood." Narberal said in a defeated and sad tone.

"I'll leave the scheduled call-ins to you as well."

—-

As the supreme beings left the room, Narberal sighed deeply.

Then she rubbed the corner of her eyes, and her eyes, previously filled with a keen expression, drooped powerlessly. Her face looked completely relaxed. Even her ponytail seemed to have lost its energy and hung limply down.

However, she still recalled her supreme master's orders.

Though Narberal was dying to look around outside the room, she was a magic caster and had a lot of trouble replicating the feats of thieves. Therefore, she used the skills she was familiar with to make up the shortfall.

"「Rabbit's Ear」."

A pair of adorable bunny ears grew from Narberal's head as the spell was cast. The quivering ears immediately picked up all the sounds around her.

This was one of the three spells known as "Bunny Magic" to the players of YGGDRASIL. The other two were 「Rabbit's Foot」, which boosted luck, and 「Bunny Tail」, which reduced monster aggro. Casting all three of these spells at once would change the appearance of a female character's clothing, and so they were very popular. However, Narberal did not cast the other two because they were not needed.

Most of Narberal's spells pertained to combat. This was one of the few exceptions.

After listening to the sounds around her, she made sure it was safe before casting the **[MESSAGE]** spell. As she expected, a pleasant female voice spoke within her head.

『Narberal Gamma, is something the matter?』

"Yes, this is the scheduled report."

Narberal was speaking to the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Albedo.

She described every detail of the situation to Albedo, and finally she mentioned the news that Albedo was dying to hear:

"Lord Ainz mentioned you, lady Albedo. He said that there was nobody else he could trust apart from you."

『Kufu—!』

A strange cry of delight resounded within Narberal's head.

『Good — very good — Narberal, you're such a good girl! Keep spreading that news for me! This is an order from Nazarick's Guardian Overseer!』

Narberal wondered, Is this really worth an order? However, she realized that this might be a move in the struggle to better serve the Supreme One. Thus, such an order made perfect sense.

Just as Narberal was about to express her doubts, she heard Albedo's excited voice once more.

『I'll slowly decrease the distance between myself and Lord Ainz while Shalltear is out on business! Although the objective is hard to breach, as long as I keep up the pressure and gain a beachhead, I'll be able to bring it down one day! On that glorious day, Shalltear will weep bitter tears of regret!』

Albedo's cry of delight made Narberal slightly. However that excited voice was starting to annoy her.

With a voice that suggested she might burst into dance at any moment, Albedo continued babbling about what she would do next, and how things had to be, and then suddenly, she asked in a calm voice:

『Still, why are you helping me? Why did you choose me and not Shalltear? Could it be that you want something from me?』

"The answer is simple. If someone asked me whether lady Albedo or Shalltear-sama was more suitable to sit beside Lord Ainz, I would definitely answer with your name, lady Albedo."

『Kufu—! Wonderful. I didn't think you'd be able to see the future of Nazarick. I'm impressed』

"Also, Yuri-nee-sama has a hard time dealing with Shalltear-sama."

『Oh, Yuri Alpha. I see, so that's how it is. Are the others on my side as well?』

The faces of the assistant leader Yuri Alpha as well as her other comrades appeared in Narberal's mind.

"That is hard to tell. Lupusregina is with you, lady Albedo, but Solution is on Shalltear-sama's side. As for Entoma and Shizu, their allegiances are not yet known."

『Can Solution be won over?』

"It would be very difficult, because her tastes are very similar to Shalltear-sama's."

『Oh, I see… what crude hobbies she has.』

Narberal agreed with Albedo's words. She had no idea why Solution liked what she did, and she could not help but tilt her head in puzzlement.

Although all human beings were inferior lifeforms — with ONE exception — none of them had the hobby of tormenting humans. However, they would kill any humans who got in their way, even if doing so was tedious. That said, they would not go out of their way to kill them.

『Well, it can't be helped. Then, move quickly and bring the other girls into my camp. Start with Entoma and Shizu.』

"That should be fine. Solution and Entoma both like eating humans, so if we bring Entoma to your side, Solution might end up becoming an ally as a result."

『That's right… I've got it. Then, onto something else… can you tell me in detail what's have the supreme ones been doing?』

"Yes, I understand."

The scheduled communication with Albedo ended up being very heated — when Albedo heard Narberal and Ainz were sharing a room, she made strange noises and kicked up a fuss — to the point where she had to cast the same spell four times. Ainz was mildly annoyed when he returned, but that is a tale for another time.

—-

Sensing something like a color upon the wind, Britta sniffed several times, like a dog.

She was not mistaken — the air contained a greenish scent. This odor came from mysterious drugs and crushed plants. The smell told Britta that she was at her destination.

Britta continued forward, to a place where the smell was stronger than just now. Peering left and right, she walked on until she was in front of the largest house.

This house was different from the others around it, which were designed with a shop area in front and a work area in the back. It seemed to have been built from the ground up as a workshop.

She knew that she had arrived from the sign that hung above the door and outside the place.

The bell mounted on top of the door rang surprisingly loudly as she pushed open the front door.

After she entered, she found herself in something that looked like a guest lounge. There were two facing benches in the middle of the room, cabinets of books on the walls, and ornamental plants in the corners of the room.

As she stepped into the lounge, a voice called out:

"Welcome!"

It was a male voice, though it sounded too young to belong to a man.

Looking around, she saw a teenage boy standing before her, dressed in a beat-up set of old work coveralls that were stained with juices from crushed plants.

His blond hair covered half his face, so it was hard to guess his age, but from his height and his voice, he should be in puberty.

Although he was a teenager, Britta could still guess his name. Apart from the fame of his grandmother, he had become one of the few notable people in E-Rantel by virtue of his innate talents.

"...Nfirea Bareare-san?"

"Yes, that's me."

The boy — Nfirea — nodded and asked:

"May I know what business you have here?"

"Ah, yes. Hang on a bit."

Britta retrieved the folded slip of paper the innkeeper had passed her and gave it to the boy.

Upon receiving the piece of paper, Nfirea opened and read it.

"I see… so that's what's going on. Then, can I see the potion?"

Britta took out the potion and handed it to Nfirea, who brought it so close to himself that his hair covered it.

The atmosphere changed.

Nfirea swept his hair away, revealing a handsome face, which would surely break the hearts of many girls.

However, within that youthful face of his was a pair of steely eyes. It was hard to imagine that someone who spoke and acted like he did could have eyes like that. Those eyes sparkled with excitement. Nfirea shook the potion bottle several times and nodded.

"Forgive me, it's not convenient to speak here. Could you follow me inside?"

Britta agreed, and under Nfirea's guidance, she soon arrived at a messy room. Still, she thought that way because she lacked professional experience.

On the table were round-bottomed flasks, test tubes, distillation equipment, mortars, funnels, beakers, alcohol lamps, balances, a bizarre-looking pot, and various other items. The shelves on the walls were filled with mysterious herb and mineral samples.

An acrid odor hung in the air. It seemed potentially dangerous to one's body.

The person who was already within the room stared at the two people who had barged in.

She was a very old woman, and both her face and hands were heavily wrinkled. Her hair, which reached to her eyebrows, was pure white. Her work clothes were stained with even more green residue than Nfirea's and she smelled heavily of grass.

Nfirea, who had just entered, called out to the old lady:

"Granny!"

"What is it, what is it, I can hear you even if you don't shout. My ears are sharp, you know."

Nfirea only had one grandmother, who was renowned as the greatest herbalist in this city, Lizzie Bareare.

"Come take a look at this."

Lizzie accepted the potion Nfirea offered her. As she studied it, her gaze was so focused and keen that it unsettled Britta. She looked like a grizzled veteran of many battles.

In this, she was not wrong. Herbalists needed to use magic when making their potions and medicines, and the more famous the herbalist, the higher the tier of magic they could use. Therefore, the greatest herbalist of E-Rantel, Lizzie Bareare, was a much better combatant than Britta.

"This potion… did you bring it here? ...A legendary potion? No, could it be… God's Blood? What on earth is this potion?"

"Eh?"

Britta's eyes went wide, thinking That's my line.

"Impossible… this potion. Where did you get it from? A ruin?"

"Eh? Ah, no, that…"

"What a shrinking violet you are. Just give me a straight answer — where did you get it from? Did you steal it? Hm?"

Britta's shoulders shuddered in surprise. She had done nothing wrong, yet she felt like she was being rebuked.

"...Granny, don't scare her."

"...What are you saying, Nfirea? I didn't scare her at all… right?"

No, you did. Britta wanted to say that, but instead she gulped and simply told Lizzie the full story about the potion:

"Ah, er, someone else gave it to me as payment."

"...Hah?"

Lizzie's eyes became even more stern.

"Wait a minute, Granny. Britta-san, could you tell me who gave it to you? And why was it given to you?"

With Nfirea's help, Britta explained simply that she had received the potion from a mysterious man in full plate. As Lizzie heard it, more furrows sprouted on her wrinkled face.

"...Did you know that there are three kinds of potions?"

Without waiting for Britta's reply, Lizzie continued:

"The first kind are potions made from herbs alone. Those potions act slowly, and all they can do is improve a person's natural recovery. While they're not very effective, they're very cheap. The second kind of potions are made with herbs and magic. These potions take effect faster than the first kind, but they still need some time to work. Most adventurers use these potions to recover after a battle. The final kind of potion is made solely from magic. Essentially, one infuses a spell into an alchemical solution and it takes instant effect. These potions are functionally the same as a spell, but they are correspondingly more expensive. Then, which of these three kinds does that potion of yours belong too? I can't see any traces of herbal residue, so it should be a pure-magic potion, but—"

Lizzie pulled out a potion bottle filled with a blue liquid and held it before Britta's eyes.

"This is a basic healing potion. The colors are different, right? Recovery potions turn blue during their manufacture, but yours is red. In other words, the process by which that potion was made is completely different from the way normal potions are made. In other words, your potion is pretty rare, and for all we know it might end up revolutionizing modern potion creation methods… well, you might not realise it for a while."

After saying that, Lizzie cast a spell:

"「Appraisal Magic Item」."

"「Detect Enchant」."

After casting the two spells on the potion, a look of shock and anger appeared on Lizzie's face.

"Kuku. Fuahaha!"

—Suddenly, crazed laughter echoed through the narrow room. Lizzie slowly raised her head, a terrifyingly mad smile on her face. Britta was so frightened by the sudden change in Lizzie that not only could she not speak, she could not even move.

"Kukuku! Is that what it is!? Look closely at this potion, Nfirea! This is the perfected form of all potions! It's right here! We — herbalists, alchemists, everyone in the business of making potions — have studied for so long and accumulated so much experience, but yet we have not been able to achieve this idealized form!"

Lizzie's cheeks were red from her excitement and she was huffing and puffing. However, she maintained her death grip on the potion bottle as she brought it before Nfirea's eyes.

"Potions will deteriorate over time, am I right!?"

"Of course, that's common sense."

In stark contrast to Lizzie's excitement, Nfirea was calm. However, Britta could sense hints of anticipation within him.

She had no idea why they were so fired up about this. She keenly felt like she had been swept up into a storm that shook the heavens and the earth. To think she had brought a potion here that could put such an excited look on the face of E-Rantel's greatest herbalist!

"Pure magic potions are made from alchemical solutions. Those solutions are refined from a mineral base, so it's only natural that the quality of the solution will degrade over time. That's why you need to cast the spell 「Preservation」 on it."

Lizzie paused, and then spoke again.

"At least, until now."

Britta seemed to understand a little of what Lizzie was saying. She looked at the red solution, her eyes wide with surprise.

"This bottle! This potion! This bottle of potion! It doesn't deteriorate even without preservative magic! In other words, it's a perfect potion! Nobody's done anything like this until today! According to the ancient legends, the original healing potion was made from the blood of the gods."

Lizzie shook the bottle she was holding and the bright red liquid swirled within the glass.

"Of course, they're just legends. It used to be a joke between herbalists that the gods had blue blood."

After another brief pause, Lizzie looked at the bottle of potion she was holding in her hand. It was trembling in her excitement.

"This potion might well be the true God's Blood!"

Nfirea kept patting Lizzie's back as she panted heavily. Britta was struck dumb by surprise. The silence between them was broken by Lizzie:

"...You must have come here to learn about this potion's effects, right? This potion is around the level of a second tier healing spell. Not counting the added value from its rarity, it would fetch around eight gold pieces. That said, once you factor that extra value in, the price is enough that people would murder you for it."

Britta's body trembled uncontrollably.

To an iron plate adventurer like Britta, the potion's base value alone was already very high, to say nothing of the added value. Lizzie had a gleaming edge in her eye, and she looked like she was looking for any opportunity to take it from her.

Even so, Britta had her doubts. Why would that man in full plate armor give her that potion so easily? What sort of man hid under that armor?

Just as countless doubts appeared in her heart, Lizzie asked:

"How about selling it to me? I'll give you a good price for it. How about thirty two gold pieces?"

Britta's eyes went even wider.

The price Lizzie had just quoted was a staggering sum. Frugally used, it was enough for a family of three to live on for three years.

Britta was confused. She knew the potion was incredibly valuable. Then, was selling it for thirty two gold pieces the right thing to do? It seemed unlikely that she would ever be able to lay her hands on another potion like this again.

But if she refused, would she make it back alive?

After seeing Britta's hesitant face, Lizzie shook her head and proposed another deal—

—-

The next morning, Ainz/Momon, Karna/Siegfried and Jeanne/Artoria followed by Narberal/Nabe opened the guild's doors once more.

The first thing they saw as they entered the room was the counter, where three of the guild's receptionists greeted the adventurers with smiles on their faces. There were warriors in full plate armor, nimble fellows in light armor and bearing bows, people in priest's garb and adorned with all manner of holy symbols, as well as robed arcane magic casters with their staves.

On the left was a large door, and on the right was a notice board. There were several pieces of parchment upon it which he had not seen yesterday. Several adventurers were chatting in front of it.

Annoyed by that sight and the many sticking-out pieces of parchment, Ainz moved forward to the counter.

The eyes of everyone present focused on the copper plate around each of their neck, and he could feel those eyes sizing him up from head to toe. It was just like yesterday at the inn.

Siegfried was surveying the adventurers in turn. They wore gold and silver plates on their necklaces, with no copper plates. Feeling vaguely out of place, they advanced to the counter.

A group of adventurers had just departed, freeing up one of the counters. He stepped forward and said:

"Pardon me, but I'm looking for work."

"Then, please select a piece of parchment from over there and bring it here."

Siegfried nodded in silence, feeling as though his nonexistent sweat glands were now recovering some of their function. He arrived before the notice boards, looked across all of them, and then nodded.

Yup, I can't read any of them.

One of the laws in this world was that spoken language was automatically translated, but written text was not.

The receptionists walked him through everything the last time he came to the Adventurer's Guild, so he had assumed they would do the same this time too. How naive.

He wanted to scream "Ahhhh," and roll around on the ground, and then his emotions suddenly calmed down. He grateful for this new demon body of his, Siegfried frantically racked his brains.

While the literacy rate here was not high, it would be shameful if his inability to read was discovered by others. They might even look down on him.

The translation item that Siegfried possessed was now in the hands of Sebas. During YGGDRASIL he had ignored spells of that sort and had not learned them. After all, he had scrolls, which could substitute for learning those spells.

He cursed himself for a fool, for coming out without making preparations despite knowing that he could not read the language.

Still, there was no point crying over spilt milk. Regret would not help him here.

Narberal could not read the words either, so she was of no use.

Negative thoughts rose up in his mind, but as a ruler of Nazarick, he could not do anything embarrassing.

After gathering his resolve, Siegfried ripped off a piece of parchment, and strode back to the counter.

"I'd like to take this job."

Confusion came over the counter girl's face as she looked at the parchment before her eyes. Then, she smiled bitterly and replied:

"I'm very sorry, but this job is only for mithril plate adventurers…"

"I know. That's why I took it."

The calm, unwavering tone in Ainz's voice evoked doubt in the counter girl's eyes.

"Er, about that…"

"I would like to take this job."

"Eh? Ah, but, even if you ask, according to the rules…"

"They're worthless rules. I'm fed up with having to keep proving myself with easy, pathetic jobs like this before my rank-up examinations."

"If you fail the job, many people will lose their lives."

The receptionist's firm voice seemed to encompass the silent opinions of the countless people who had worked hard to qualify themselves by the guild's rankings.

"Hmph."

Siegfried snort drew hostility from the counter girl and the surrounding adventurers. Siegfried felt that their attitude was only to be expected. After all, he was a clueless newcomer who was sneering at the rules by which they abided.

As an heteromorphic being, Siegfried felt nothing, but the remnants of a human man sensibilities made Siegfried want to apologize to everyone around him.

As a human, he hated those people who rejected other's opinions without offering solutions of their own, and crappy customers who knew nothing.

Right now, Siegfried was part of the latter group, and he wanted to give himself a good punch.

However, Siegfried could not back down easily. He wanted to, but he could still deal with a situation of this level. Therefore, Siegfried pulled out his trump card.

"The person behind me is my companion, Nabe. She is a magician of the third tier and the other one is also my companion, she is able to caster fourth tier magic."

The air shuddered with a collective gasp, and everyone looked at Narberal and Artoria in surprise. In this world, third tier spells were the highest which most magic casters could reach. Fourth tier was only thought possible through natural born talent.

Is he for real? The eyes of the surrounding people shifted to Siegfried stylish red cloak, dubious of his claim.

Adventurers wore equipment which matched their abilities. The stronger they are, the better the gear they outfitted themselves with. Siegfried cloak and armor was very eye-catching and so was Momon, but the most eyes catching thing about them was the fact that they travel with such beautiful women, both of which were very persuasive.

Noticing the changes around him, Ainz cheered inside his heart, and decided to strike while the iron was hot:

"I, personally, am a warrior of comparable strength to Nabe and Artoria. Siegfried here is the strongest in our group, I am very sure that a job like that would be a trivial task for us."

The receptionist and the other adventurers were not as surprised in comparison to just now. They seemed to be looking at the team of four with different eyes.

"We did not become adventurers to do jobs for a few pieces of copper. I wish to take on a higher ranked job. If you wish to see our strength, I will be more than glad to show it to you. Therefore, can we take this job?" Siegfried asked.

The hostility towards them was fading rapidly, and there were whispers of, "Indeed, that's right," and "No wonder." After all, the rough men called adventurers valued strength, and they understood what Siegfried was trying to say.

However, the counter girl was a different matter.

"...I am very sorry, but we cannot let you take this job due to the rules, we can lose our jobs"

The receptionist lowered her head in apology, and Siegfried took a victory pose in his heart.

"Then it can't be helped… it seems I've put you in a difficult position, I apologize" Siegfried replied as he gave her a charming smile to which the receptionist blush brightly.

'What are you doing!' Ainz mentally scream as he slightly and unknowingly step further away from Jeanne whose eyes were shadowed her silver hair.

"Then, can you help me pick the most challenging copper plate job. There should be others besides the ones on the noticeboard, right?"

"Um… y-yes there should be" the blushing receptionist said in a shy voice.

'All those acting lessons and school plays is good for something after all!'

The blush receptionist stood up, and just as Siegfried was about to cry tears of joy at his absolute victory, a man's voice reached his ears.

"How about helping us with our work, then?"

"What?"

He had reflexively responded in a low, threatening tone. Siegfried looked over, but all saw was a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklaces.

Ainz grumbled internally — After all the effort to misdirect them — and turned to face those people.

"The job in question… it's a worthwhile assignment… right?"

"Mm — well, I feel it's worthwhile."

The person who responded was a man who looked like the team's leader. He wore some sort of banded armor — strips of metal woven together with metal threads over a leather or chain backing — and carried himself like a warrior.

Should he join this man's team and work with them? Of course, he could decide after hearing them out, but then there was no telling if the receptionist would help them pick a job after he spoke with them. However, if he took their job, there would be a chance to build relations with them and obtain useful information.

Several seconds passed.

Ainz look over to his friends who nodded at him, he turn slowly nodded:

"Worthwhile jobs are exactly what I seek. Then, let us work together. However, I would like to ask what sort of job it is."

After hearing his response, the men asked the receptionist to prepare a room for them.

It looked like a meeting room, with a wooden table lined with chairs in the middle. The men streamed in and sat down.

"Please have a seat."

Ainz and his friends did as he was told, and Narberal silently took a place beside them.

The men were all quite young, probably under twenty, but there was no childishness in them and they possessed a maturity which did not match their ages. Although they seemed to have seated themselves randomly around the table, judging by their distance and positioning, they could draw their weapons at any time.

This unconscious display must have been a habit born from countless close encounters with death.

"Before we begin discussing the job, let us introduce ourselves."

The speaker was the man who looked like a warrior.

He had the typical blond hair and blue eyes of the Kingdom, and while there were no other distinguishing features on him, he looked quite handsome.

"I'm the leader of the "Swords of Darkness," Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve."

A leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgement, and his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular.

"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster."

"Pleased to meet you."

He was probably the youngest person in the group, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though he was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful.

Unlike the tanned skin of the group's other members, his skin was pale, and his face was the prettiest of the group's. It was more of an androgynous beauty than any masculine concept of attractiveness. His voice was higher-pitched than the others.

However, the smile on his face was like a mask, though it was not entirely fake.

While the others all wore armor, he wore a leather robe. However, Ainz could see that beneath the table he had various strange items in his belt, including oddly-shaped bottles and peculiar wooden objects and so on.

Judging from the term "spellcaster," he was probably a magic caster of the arcane variety, like Ainz.

"...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?"

"Eh? But it's a good one."

"You have a nickname?" Ainz asked, with no idea what was going on. Lukrut explained:

"He's a talent holder, and a genius magic caster."

"Oh…" Siegfried murmured: they had tortured three of the Sunlight Scripture members to death to get that information, and now there was a live example in front of him. Siegfried was delighted.

However, Narberal did not understand and simply snorted derisively. Ainz sighed in relief after he realized that none of them had heard it. He was slightly mad because his incompetent subordinate was doing odd things like this during a negotiation, but getting into an argument here would not be productive either, so Ainz quickly calmed himself down.

"It's nothing much, it's just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that field…"

"Oh…"

The three (karna Jeanne and Ainz) was even more interested, and he leaned forward, straining to listen.

Much like martial arts, talents were abilities that did not exist in YGGDRASIL but which were unique to this world. About one in every two hundred people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type.

For instance, there were talents like being able to predict tomorrow's weather with seventy percent accuracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of the dragons which once ruled this world, and so on.

However, all of these were inborn abilities, which could not be chosen or changed. It was quite common to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied. If someone was born with a talent that could improve the destructive power of their magic, but they never had the chance to become a magic caster, then their talent would be useless.

There were very few people who could make good use of their talents. There were almost no talents which could dictate the course of one's entire life, apart from a few exceptionally powerful talents..

The best proof of that statement was Gazef Stronoff, who was a warrior without a talent.

However, people with combat-applicable talents tended to go into the adventuring profession. Therefore, talent-holders were a common sight among adventurers. The person before him was one of those lucky few who could fully utilize his talent.

"I think his talent had something to do with being suited to studying magic, and he only took four years to learn what should have taken eight years. I'm not a magic caster, so I'm not sure how great that is."

The three of them was a magic caster as well. Those words made Ainz, Siegfried and Artoria curious, and awoke a collector's desire within them all. This was an ability which the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick did not possess, and which could strengthen the organization. If they could gain control of that ability, it might be worth making enemies of everyone here.

Shrinking the time it took to learn an ability like this should have been the province of a Super tier spell,「Wish Upon A Star」.

The two of them continued talking, without realizing that Ainz was watching them under his helmet, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey.

"...I'm really lucky that I was born with this ability, because it allowed me to take a step closer to my dream. Without this power, I would have ended my days as a lowly peasant."

Ninya's muttering was gloomy and solemn. As though to sweep away the grim air hanging over the room, Peter continued in a completely different tone:

"Well, no matter what, you're still a famous talent-holder in this city."

"Still, there's people more famous than me."

"The leader of Blue Rose?"

"That person's famous too, but I was talking about someone within this city."

"You mean, Bareare!?" shouted the last person, who had not yet been introduced yet. Siegfried was curious about the name and asked:

"...And what sort of talent does that person have?"

A look of surprise came over all four of them. It would seem this was common knowledge.

Siegfried had asked that question because he was curious and wanted to acquire an ability which could strengthen Nazarick. Therefore, in response to the regret he felt over his carelessness, he told himself that there had to be some way to recover from a mistake like this.

However, before Ainz Siegfried explains, the other side came to a conclusion of their own:

"I see, the reason why we don't know you at all despite that stylish gears and your beautiful companion is because you're not from around here, am I right?"

'..sure… let go with that' Siegfried nodded at this heaven-sent mercy of a question.

"Indeed, that is correct. The truth is, we only arrived here yesterday." Artoria said.

"Oh, so you wouldn't know, then? He's a famous person in this town, but he's probably not that famous that distant cities would know about him, huh?"

"Yes, I've never heard of him before. If you don't mind, could you tell me about him?"

"His name is Nfirea Bareare, the grandson of a famous herbalist. His talent allows him to use any magic item. Not only can he use scrolls of a different spellcasting system from himself, he can even use items made by the non-human races. Even items restricted to those of royal blood shouldn't be a problem either."

"..Oh."

Artoria tried her best not to let them hear the awe in her voice.

How much could his talent do? Could he use the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown — which only the guildmaster could use — as well as World Class Items? Or did it have limits?

He was someone to be wary of, but he could be very useful as well.

Narberal seemed to feel the same way. She brought her mouth close to where Artoria ears and whispered:

"I think that person is dangerous my lady"

"...I know. Coming to this city was the right decision." She whispers back.

"Artoria, is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, it's fine, don't worry. Speaking of which, could you tell me about your last friend?"

"Yes. He's a druid — Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. Let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."

"Pleased to meet you my lady!" came the greeting from the burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard. However, he seemed younger than how Ainz appeared.

There was a very faint smell of grass from him, which came from the cloth pouch tied to his waist.

"Then, it's time for us to introduce ourselves. She is Nabe, I am Artoria Alter. This here are my friend, Momon, Siegfried, it pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Wonderful, I hope we'll get along. Then, Artoria, you can just address me by my first name. Right, while it feels a little wrong to get to business so abruptly, we should probably start discussing the job. As for that, the truth is what we're asking you for doesn't really qualify as work."

"That means…"

Upon hearing Momon confusion, Peter extended his hand to halt him, with the intention of delaying the question for a later date.

"This job is to hunt the monsters that appear around the town."

"Clearing out monsters, huh…?"

That was enough to count as work. Or was there some special adventurer reason which made him say that it did not qualify? Ainz wanted to ask about that, but if this was common knowledge, asking that question might make him appear clueless, which was bad. Therefore, he tried asking a safe question instead.

"What sorts of monsters will we be exterminating?"

"Ah, we're not exterminating monsters. After hunting monsters, the city council will pay us a reward based on their strength. What do they call it where you come from, Momon-san?"

So that was it.

Ainz understood. When Peter said that this did not qualify as work, in YGGDRASIL terms, it was more like killing spawned monsters and taking the items they dropped.

"This is something we have to do to make a living," said the druid — Dyne Woodwonder — in his deep baritone.

Following that, Lukrut spoke up as well.

"For us, it's making a living, but what we do also reduces the danger to the surrounding people. The traders can come and go in peace and the country can collect its taxes. All in all, it's a way to earn money without anyone losing out."

"Nowadays, most countries with guilds do this, but five years ago, this sort of thing was nonexistent. It's quite surprising."

Everyone in the team nodded as Ninya spoke. They began chatting amongst themselves, leaving no openings for Ainz to cut in. Still, it would be odd to know absolutely nothing about this country, so Ainz decided to shut up and listen to what they said.

"It's all thanks to the Golden Princess, long may she live."

"She proposed a policy through that would waive taxes on adventurers, although it never got passed."

"Oh, to think she paid so much attention to adventurers."

"Indeed. Some rulers would treat armed organizations who were not loyal to the country as enemies. Even the Empire isn't so generous."

"That princess sure is brilliant, coming out with all these great proposals… although almost all of them were shot down."

"I want to marry a beautiful girl like that~"

"Then, shouldn't you work on getting ennobled?"

"Ah—no way, no way, I couldn't live a stifled life like that."

"I think being a noble's not bad. After all, the Kingdom pretty much allows a noble to trample the peasants and do as they please."

There was a strong undercurrent of mockery hidden beneath Ninya's words. Siegfried, Momon and Artoria furrowed their brows, but Narberal remained still, a nonchalant look on her face. Lukrut replied in a jovial tone:

"Uwah~ that tongue of yours is still so vicious. You really hate nobles, don't you?"

"I know that some nobles are honorable, but my big sister was taken away by that pig. I can't not hate nobles."

"...We're getting sidetracked here! We shouldn't be talking about this sort of thing in front of our comrades."

After Dyne tried to get everyone back on track, Peter coughed in an incredibly fake manner before continuing:

"And so, we'll be searching for monsters in the nearby region. We're close to a developed region, so the monsters shouldn't be too strong. Does that displease you, Momon-san?"

Peter spread a piece of parchment on the table. It looked to be a map of the surrounding region. The map showed villages, forests, rivers, and so on.

"Basically, we'll be heading south and looking around this area."

His finger moved from the center of the parchment to the vicinity of the southern forest.

"We'll be hunting monsters in the forest bordering the Slaine Theocracy. The only creatures who can hit the back line are Goblins with magic items that grant flight."

"However, we won't get much for killing such weak monsters."

Ainz had his doubts about this group's easygoing attitude.

From what Ainz knew, there were many kinds of named Goblins in YGGDRASIL, and their levels ranged from one to fifty. Since individual Goblins could vary widely in power, one could not lump the Goblins into one big group. A moment's carelessness could lead to dire consequences.

Did their relaxed attitudes mean that they were confident of not encountering high-level Goblins, or did it mean that this world's Goblins were simply that weak?

"...What if a powerful Goblin shows up?" Siegfried asked.

"While it's true that powerful Goblins exist, they won't show up in the forest we're heading towards, because these Goblins are usually tribal leaders. They won't mobilize their entire tribes just for us."

"The Goblins know about humanity's area of influence, so they're fully aware of the retaliation that'll be headed that way if they launch a large-scale attack. It's especially true when it comes to the stronger Goblins, since they tend to be the higher-ranked and more intelligent members of their species."

"Plus, Nabe-san can use third tier magic and even better Artoria can cast 4th tier magic. So it should be fine even if we encounter high level Goblins, right?"

"I see. However, I'd like to remind you that there are Goblins who can use third tier magic. Just for my reference, could you tell me about the monsters we might encounter?"

The Swords of Darkness turned in unison to look at Ninya. Picking up on their thoughts, Ninya began explaining with a teacherly look on his face.

"We're likely to encounter Goblins and the wolves they raise. As for other monsters, there haven't been any strong ones sighted around this area. The most dangerous monsters we might encounter on the plains are probably ogres."

"We won't be entering the forest?"

"Yes, because the forest is very dangerous. We can still deal with things like Jumping Leeches and Giant Beetles, but the Hanging Spiders which spit webs at you from the trees and the Forest Worms which maul you from the ground with their huge jaws are harder to handle."

No wonder.

Ainz nodded in acknowledgement. So their aim was to hunt the monsters from the forest which made their way onto the plains.

"That's how it is, Siegfried. How about it? Want to lend us a hand?"

"...Mm. Then, I'll be in your care… although before that, could you tell me about the pay for this?"

"Ah, yes, that's right, the payment is very important. Basically, since Siegfried team and our team are working together, the plan is to split it evenly."

"Going by the numbers in our teams, it seems awfully generous."

"However, when the monsters appear, I hope you, Momon, Artoria and Nabe-san will take half of them as well. We can only use spells of up to the second tier. So when we factor your abilities in that division of the money seems quite logical."

The three pretended to think for a while before Momon nodded in agreement.

"I have no problems with that arrangement. Then, let us fight shoulder to shoulder. Also, since we're working together, I guess I should let everyone see my true face."

With that, Momon removed his helmet. The four people before him seemed quite surprised by what they saw.

"...Black eyes and hair like Nabe-san, so he shouldn't have been born in this area. I've heard that in the south, people like Momon-san are commonplace… did you come from that region?"

"Yes. We have come here from a faraway land."

He's older than I thought, he's already an uncle.

Hey, that's rude.

A warrior on par with a magic caster of the third tier should be around that age.

Miss Nabe's pretty amazing too.

Ainz's keen ears picked up their whispered words, with the exception of Peter's.

Being called an uncle made Ainz feel uncomfortable, but it probably couldn't be helped that he was an uncle in the eyes of these youngsters. If one was an adult by the age of sixteen, then Ainz was definitely an uncle to them.

"I'll be covering my face up after showing it to you. There might be trouble if other people know I'm a foreigner."

With that, Ainz put his helmet back on again. After that, he smiled in satisfaction under his helmet. This was because Ainz had enchanted himself with an illusion — although it was a low-grade type, which would be seen through if touched — just in case.

"Since we'll be hunting together, it would probably be good to get questions out of the way at this point. Do you have anything to ask me?"

"Me!"

A hand shot up toward the ceiling after Ainz asked his question. That hand belonged to Lukrut.

After making sure that nobody else was asking a question other than himself, Lukrut cheerfully asked Nabe and Artoria:

"What kind of relationship do you all have with each other!"

The room was filled with silence.

Ainz had no idea what Lukrut meant by that question. However, Peter and his people had picked up on Lukrut's intentions.

"...We are all just companions." Siegfried answer with slight annoyance.

After Siegfried answer, Lukrut's next few words threw the room into an uproar.

"I've fallen for you! It's love at first sight! Please go out with me!" He look at Artoria.

Everyone turned to look at Lukrut. After realising that Lukrut's words were not a joke to deepen their friendship, Ainz shifted his gaze to Narberal. As the center of attention, Narberal took a deep breath before replying:

"Silence, inferior life form (slug). Learn your place before speaking again, or should I rip your tongue out of your head."

The silence was even more deafening than before.

"Ah, no…"

Ainz made to lighten the mood, but Lukrut stole a march on him and said, "Thank you for the firm rejection! Then, let's start as friends!"

"Die, inferior life form (maggot). How could I possibly be friends with you? Or do you want me to gouge out your eyeballs with a spoon?"

After turning away from the feuding pair, Ainz and Peter bowed to each other in apology.

"...My comrade has made trouble for you."

"No, I should be the one apologizing."

"We'll call it quits, then. Is that all right?"

Peter looked around before speaking, though he kept his eyes from the grinning Lukrut and the cold-eyed Narberal.

"Then If you guys are ready, then let's move out. We're already prepared."

After hearing the word "ready," Ainz suddenly thought of something.

They had already purchased the minimum required gear from the innkeeper. Although Ainz and Narberal did not need to waste space on food and drinks, it would be weird if they did not eat or drink anything, so they had some ready just in case.

"All right, once we distribute the rations, we can set out right away."

"Are rations the only thing you need to prepare? If you're not going to buy them from a specialist shop, why not get some dry rations from the counter? They'll prepare them for you right away."

"Is that so? That's good to hear. We can finish our preparations right away."

"Then, let's go."

Everyone rose and left the room.

After returning to the guild lobby, there were more adventurers than before, and there were several teams standing near the parchment-covered noticeboard. However, everyone's attention seemed focused on a certain teenager.

The blond-haired teenager was talking to one of the counter girls, and the other two receptionists were leaning in to eavesdrop on their conversation. If things had been busy when Ainz came in, the current situation was now the exact opposite.

The counter girl's face — no, her mouth was in an O shape. It was a look of surprise. And the person she was looking at was none other than Ainz himself.

What's going on here?

Just as doubt started welling up inside Ainz, the counter girl approached and said:

"There is a job here asking for you by name."

Those words changed the air in the room instantly. Ainz could feel many curious eyes staring unreservedly at him.

The Swords of Darkness were similarly shocked.

Narberal shifted briefly at the unpleasant change in the room's atmosphere. This was to make it easier to act during the critical early stages of a battle.

Siegfried could not help but feel worried by this.

This is bad, Narberal's movements are bad. Judging by the way Narberal stood beside him, she must have thought that something strange was about to happen and had taken up a defensive posture to protect the three supreme beings. However, it was an action completely unfitting for a situation like this. Normal people would not do such a thing under these circumstances.

Granted, protecting them was her top priority, but her movements were far too thoughtless.

You idiot. Albedo's the same way too. What the hell are the both of you thinking? No… it's more like they didn't think at all. They feel like they can crush humans like insects because they look down on them.

While that sort of attitude could not be helped from NPCs of a guild composed of heteromorphic beings (Ainz Ooal Gown), there was a time and place for that sort of thing.

An annoyed Ainz and Karna wanted to ask their past comrades, "Why are all your NPCs like this?" He did not care what kind of backstory they had, but they needed to have basic social skills, as well as the ability to take note of the time, place, situation, and respond accordingly.

They did not have time to scold Narberal now. If someone discovered that Narberal was in battle mode, who knew what sort of trouble they might get into.

Ainz immediately karate chopped Narberal on the head. Although he did not use his full strength, he was still wearing his Jarngreipr. Narberal looked back at Ainz with tear-filled eyes, a look of surprise and confusion on her face, as though Ainz had grievously wounded her with that strike. However, Ainz paid her no heed and asked the counter girl:

"And who is this person who has asked for me by name?"

The moment those words cleared his mouth, Ainz cursed himself. Who else could it be but the boy in front of him?

"That would be Nfirea Bareare-san."

I just heard that name — as Ainz thought this, the boy approached him.

"Pleased to meet you. I was the one who put out that job."

The boy nodded slightly, and Ainz returned the gesture.

'This is weird, we are just newly made adventurer and this kid already knows Ainz adventurer name and personally made a request to hire him specifically… he clearly has a second reasoning for doing this, there is definitely something going on here' Siegfried thought as he released a mental sigh.

"Actually, this request—"

Before the boy could finish speaking, Siegfried raised his hand to interrupt:

"My deepest apologies, but we've already made an agreement with someone else for a job, so I cannot accept your request right away."

The air in the room seemed to shudder as he said this. The reaction of the Swords of Darkness was more intense than Siegfried own:

"But Siegfried! He asked for you by name!"

Peter's response filled Siegfried with doubt. Was a personal request something to be surprised about? However—

"That may be so, but should we not carry out the job we've been requested to do earlier?"

Artoria decision seemed to have been the right one. Some of the adventurers around her were nodding in approval. Just then, she had a flash of inspiration:

"However… our job is hardly a request. If we don't meet any monsters, there won't be any pay to speak of…"

Peter's words to Artoria trailed off, and he sounded reluctant to speak them.

Being hired by the boy with the famous grandmother was a far cry from wandering around the place trying to kill monsters. That was why Peter sounded like he wanted to give up on the job.

With that conclusion in mind, Ainz gently said:

"...Then how about this, Peter-san? Bareare-san has not told me about the job's details, payment, timeframe, and such. I will hear him out and make my decision then."

"I'm alright with that, of course. Though I'd like to finish it quickly, it can wait a day or two."

"Then, please allow my friends and the Swords of Darkness to be present during the job briefing… no, I should say, if the negotiations fall through, I would like the privilege of carrying out my previous task first."

"Eh? Momon-san, is it alright for us to come with you?"

"Of course."

After the Swords of Darkness gave their approval, Ainz and company returned to the room from just now.

He felt very busy.

Once more, Ainz smiled bitterly and took his seat from just now. Narberal sat beside him, while the boy was one seat away from them. The Swords of Darkness went back to their previous places.

The first to speak among them was, of course, the boy:

"The receptionist mentioned it earlier, but I think it would be best if I introduced myself. I am Nfirea Bareare, and I work as an herbalist in this city. As for the details of the job, I will soon be heading into the nearby forest as planned. Since everyone knows the forest is dangerous, I was hoping that you could be my guardians, as well as help in harvesting herbs if possible."

"Bodyguarding, huh. I see."

Siegfried nodded calmly. He had the feeling that this job would be a troublesome one.

Siegfried knew he was powerful, and he could probably exterminate any attacking monster when working with his friends plus Narberal. However, he was not as confident when it came to carrying out an escort mission. This was because Ainz and Narberal were both magic casters, and lacked the specialized magic and skills needed to become shields for other people, Jeanne was the same even though her build was that of a supporter/fighter, she leaned more in the supporter build. When talking about himself, he was a fighter and a magic caster, but he was not confident in protecting other as most of his skills are AOE and destructive attacks.

"Compared to the usual amount, the payment will be—"

"—Please hold on a moment. The task of bodyguarding suits you well. Then, Peter-san, would you like me to take you on instead?"

"Eh?"

"If it's a job that involves bodyguarding and harvesting herbs, don't you think we'd be more effective with Lukrut-san the ranger and Dyne-san the druid?"

"Oh! Good eye, Siegfried. As a druid, I can show my true ability in the forest, perhaps even more so than Lukrut the ranger."

Dyne's baritone seemed to carry an undercurrent of pride. Lukrut was not happy.

"Dyne-san, you really went and said it, huh." Lukrut said.

"It's an undeniable truth, given the abilities of druids! And don't forget that I'm trained in herbalism too!"

"Hmph — Peter, I'm fine too. I'll show you who's the better of us, between Druid-san and myself."

"I'll take that to be agreement, then. If we see any monsters on the way, we'll kill them and claim the reward when we get back to town. As for Bareare-san's payment, what if we divided it equally, Peter-san?"

"If you're fine with it, then I have no objections, Siegfried."

"Bareare-san, sorry for the wait. If it's alright with you, could you permit everyone here to accept the job that you just offered?"

"I don't mind that. Then, I'll be counting on all of you. Ah, you can just call me Nfirea."

Siegfried and the others began introducing themselves to Nfirea. Although Narberal lashed Lukrut with her sharp tongue, they managed to successfully complete their self-introductions.

"Then, what I've done in the past is to proceed to Carne Village to set up a base of operations before venturing into the forest. The amount of time we'll spend depends on the herbs that we can gather, but it will be three days at the latest. In the past, it's been a couple of days on average."

"Will we be walking there?"

"Ah, yes. There will be a horse cart, but it'll be full of pots and bottles for gathering herbs, so there's not much room for you to ride."

"Can we replenish our rations in Carne Village?"

"Water should be fine, but food might be a problem, because Carne Village isn't very big."

The Swords of Darkness began discussing the preparations for the journey, as well as asking Nfirea several questions. As Ainz saw this, he decided to speak up as well:

"May I ask a few questions?"

After seeing Nfirea smile and nod in reply, Ainz began with the first question.

"Why me? I've only arrived in this city by carriage recently, and as such I have no friends here, nor am I renowned in this area. That being the case, why did you ask for me? In addition, you mentioned that you've done this in the past, which implies that in the past you've hired other adventurers. How about them?"

Ainz's gaze was keen under his helmet.

He did not know why the boy had called him out. If he had been exposed, then he would need to change his disguise and his approach to things.

Ainz studied Nfirea closely — though he could not see his eyes, due to the hair concealing them — but he could not tell what the boy truly wanted.

Could it be that he was overthinking this? Just as Ainz was beginning to get suspicious, Nfirea replied:

"Ah, the adventurers I hired in the past have all left E-Rantel for another city. That's why I was looking for new adventurers. Also, actually… I heard about what happened in the inn from one of its guests."

'OH, that why huh… but still…' Siegfried look suspiciously at Nfirea.

"What happened in the inn?"

"Yes, I heard someone effortlessly threw an adventurer one rank higher than himself..."

"I see…"

Ainz had planned to use a show of strength to increase his renown. Had this boy taken the bait? Once more, as suspicion welled up in Ainz, Nfirea smiled and pointed to the plate on Ainz's breastplate.

"Plus, copper ranked adventurers are cheaper, right? Hopefully we'll get along for a while yet."

"Haha, I do hope so."

Ainz understood what it was like to hire an untested rookie. He slowly felt himself lowering his guard, but there was one thing that worried him. If that really happened —

As Ainz thought about this, the others were asking questions one by one, which Nfirea took in stride. After there were no more questions, Nfirea announced:

"Then, let's move out once we're ready!"

—-

In the dead of night, a hooded person entered the giant graveyard of E-Rantel, with steps that made it seem as though it were gliding across the ground.

The person's hooded, jet-black cape and the way its waist and shoulders did not move up and down as it advanced was quite peculiar, resembling a ghost when viewed from afar.

The figure deftly avoided the magical illumination of the tomb and proceeded ever inward.

Before long, the figure arrived at a mausoleum, and shed its hood.

The figure was a young woman of around twenty, in the flower of her youth.

She had a pretty face, and she was cute in the way of a kitten or other small animal. Still, while she looked adorable, there was a carnivore's predatory nature hidden under that face of hers.

"I'm here~"

As she spoke in playful tones, the girl ran her fingers through her short blonde hair and pushed open the stone doors to the mausoleum. The noises of clattering metal came from under her cloak, like the sound of chain mail.

Once inside the mausoleum, all the slabs for corpses were empty. The grave goods for the deceased had already been taken away.

Perhaps it was the scent of the incense absorbed by the stone, but a fragrant smell tickled the girl's nose.

The girl furrowed her brows, then headed steadily inwards.

"Hm hm hm — hm~"

The girl pressed on an unobtrusive little carving as she hummed. As the carving moved, there was a click as something made contact with something else. A moment later, the sound of grinding came forth. The slabs slowly moved aside, and a path leading downstairs appeared.

"I'm coming in~"

With those sing-song words, the girl descended the staircase. It curved halfway, and led to a wide open space beneath the earth.

Although the walls and floor were made of mud, they looked like they had been reinforced so they would not collapse so easily. The air was relatively clean; the airflow to this place was good, which kept the air in here fresh.

However, this was not part of the graveyard; it was something far more malevolent in nature.

Menacing tapestries hung on the walls, with several crimson candles made from fresh blood below it. They gave off a pale radiance, as well as the smell of burning blood.

The flickering flames generated countless shadows, and there were several holes here, big enough for people to pass through. The unique corpse stench of low tier undead wafted out from those holes.

The girl looked around, and her eyes stopped on a certain place.

"Ah~ creepy guy who's hiding in a corner, you've got a guest~"

The man watching his surroundings from his hiding place in the dark corners of the room heard those words, and his shoulders trembled.

"Hi~ I'm here to meet Khazi-chan who's supposed to be here, is he~?"

The man seemed a little lost as to what to do, and as he heard the sound of footsteps again, his shoulders shook once more.

"It's fine. You may leave now."

After the newcomer spoke to the man, he revealed himself.

He was a skinny man.

His eyes were sunken in, and his face was a corpse-like pale white, which could be summarized in the word "lifeless." His scalp was bereft of any hair, nor were there any eyebrows, eyelashes, or any body hair at all. He gave the impression that he was completely hairless.

Given that, there was no way to tell his age at all, but since there were no wrinkles on his skin, he probably was not that old.

The man was dressed in a dark red robe that was the color of dried blood, and wore a necklace made of the skulls of small animals. His hands were so shrivelled that they resembled claws, and his fingers — tipped with dirty yellow fingernails — were wrapped around a black staff. Rather than a human, he looked more like an undead monster.

"Hai~ Khazi-chan~"

The man frowned as he heard the girl's playful greeting.

"Can you not address me like that? It'll damage the reputation of Zuranon."

Zuranon.

They were a powerful and evil secret society, counting several veteran magic casters among their number and led by a wise leader. After orchestrating several tragedies, they had become enemies of the countries in the region.

"Reeeeally…?"

The fact that the girl did not wish to change the way she addressed him made the man frown even more.

"...And then? Why did you come here? You know I'm infusing energy into the Orb of Death, right? If you're here to make trouble, I have ways to deal with that too."

The man narrowed his eyes, and tightened his grip on his staff.

"Nooooo, Khazi-chan~ I just came here to bring you this~"

The girl flashed him a coquettish smile and reached around under her cape. There was the sound of clattering, and then the girl triumphantly produced the item she had been looking for.

It was a circlet.

Countless small gems adorned thin, metallic threads, looking for all the world like a spider web covered in water droplets. The item was exquisitely made, and in the middle of the circlet — where the wearer's forehead would go — was a large black crystal.

"This is—!"

The man could not help but stare in silence.

Although he had only seen it from a distance, there was no mistake here. This was the crown he had seen once before.

"The symbol of a Miko Princess, the Crown of Wisdom! This is one of the treasures of the Slaine Theocracy!"

"Correct~ I saw a cute girl wearing this strange crown, but it looked so wrong on her head that I took it off~ And then I was sooooo surprised! She went mad~ peeing and clapping herself~"

The girl convulsed in laughter.

The Miko Princesses stood at the heart of the Slaine Theocracy's rituals. There was no way that she — as a former member of the Black Scripture — would not know what would happen when she snatched the Crown of Wisdom away from its bearer.

After all, when the time came for a new Miko Princess to be appointed, the job of the Black Scripture was to remove the Crown from its current wearer, and then promptly send the now-insane Miko Princess to be with the gods.

"Still, it can't be helped. It's the only way to obtain this — it's the fault of the person who made the Crown, he's the one to blame~"

There was no way to safely remove the Crown of Wisdom. The only option was to destroy it.

However, the Crown would delete the wearer's personality and turn a human being into a magic item that could use incredibly high-tiered spells, so nobody would do anything wasteful like destroying it.

Still, there were such madmen around.

"Hmph, to think you'd betray the Black Scripture for such trash. Why not steal one of the divine artifacts of the Six Gods?"

"Calling it trash is too mean~"

The man laughed at the girl who puffed up her face.

"Nothing wrong with calling it trash, right? Girls who can wear an item like this are one in a million. Finding a wearer for this would probably be impossible, even in the Slaine Theocracy."

The Slaine Theocracy was the only one in the surrounding countries that kept detailed registers and genealogies of its citizens. Therefore, by consulting those registers, one could easily find a wearer for the item — in other words, a sacrifice.

Without that, it would be hard for even Zuranon to find such a person.

"But really now, it's impossible to get those artifacts~ After all, that antique show is guarded by the strongest monster of the Black Scripture, that ancient beast with the blood of the Six Gods that's beyond the realm of humanity~"

"A God-Kin, huh… Is that fellow really that strong? I've only heard about it from you."

"It's stronger than the idea of strength. The relevant information has been sealed up, which is why you don't know~ If someone who knew about it was interrogated with mind-affecting magic, it would be really bad. I've heard that if the secret got out, it'd lead to total war with the surviving true Dragon Lords, which means the Slaine Theocracy would get destroyed in the crossfire, so I hope you'll pretend you never heard any of it~"

"...I find that hard to believe."

"Well, anyone who hasn't seen that power would think so~ Well then, let's get down to business, Khazit Dale Badantel — are you willing to help me out as a fellow member of the Twelve Executives?"

The girl's tone finally changed.

"Oh, showing your true face at last, oh fragment of Quintia? But don't call me Dale. I've cast away that baptismal name."

"...Then, don't call me a fragment of Quintia, hm? Call me Clementine."

"...Clementine, what do you want me to help you with?"

"There's a pretty outstanding talent holder in this town, no? Maybe that guy could wear this item~"

"...I see, that guy from the stories. Still, you could easily handle the task of kidnapping a single human being by yourself, no?"

"Mm, that's right~ But I'd like some sort of confusion while I make my move~"

"I see… a distraction while you flee, huh…"

"What about it? What if I was willing to help with your ritual? It's a good deal, right~?"

The man — Khazit — narrowed his eyes, and smiled evilly:

"Wonderful, Clementine. If you're willing to help me, I can carry out the rite of death. Very well, I shall aid you with all the resources at my disposal."

—-

There were two routes leading northeast to Carne Village from E-Rantel.

One headed north, then east along the outskirts of the forest. The other went eastwards, then north.

This time, they went by the first route.

Travelling along the edge of the forest meant that there would be a higher chance of encountering monsters. It was the wrong choice, from a bodyguard's perspective.

That said, everyone still wanted to go by that route. This was because Ainz wanted to fulfill the job Peter and friends first offered them, that of monster hunting. Although it seemed like they were taking a great risk — in the same way that a hunter chasing two hares will catch neither — the presence of the mighty Momon, Siegfried, Artoria and Nabe meant that they could take that route with peace of mind. Another reason was that Nabe and Leticia had demonstrated the spell 「Lightning」 outside the city, in order to prove that they could at least cast third tier spells.

In addition, they would not be entering the forest, just travelling along the edges. Thus, any monsters that appeared would not be too strong, and could be taken down by everyone working together. It was also a good chance for each adventurer team to observe the other's strength. They had taken these points into consideration before making their decision.

After leaving E-Rantel, the sun was at its zenith, and the travellers could see a vast stretch of dense and primeval dark green forest in the distance. The thick tree trunks stood tall, while their leafy branches spread wide. Because light could not penetrate into the depths of the forest, there was a feeling that they would be swallowed by the blackness. The gaps between the trees looked like a gaping maw waiting for prey to throw themselves into it, which contributed to the sense of unease that they felt.

The group was arrayed around the wagon as they moved forward. Naturally, Nfirea was driving the wagon. Lukrut the ranger walked ahead of him, Peter and Siegfried was on the left of the wagon, while Dyne and Artoria and Ninya the magic caster were on the right. Finally, Momon and Nabe brought up the rear.

Visibility was good, so everyone was not too tense. However, Peter's voice contained its first hint of severity as he spoke:

"Guys, this stretch is a dangerous area. Although we should be able to handle any monsters that appear, please be careful all the same."

"Understood."

As Ainz nodded, he suddenly thought of something.

If he was in a game, he could tell what sort of monsters would spawn in a given location, but in reality, that would be impossible. Only the gods knew if a troublesome enemy would show up.

After the Battle of Carne Village several days ago and after interrogating the prisoners of the Sunlight Scripture, Ainz and his friends were quite confident in his strength. Of course, that was in his capacity as a magic caster. Now that Ainz was wearing a suit of magically created plate armor, there were very few spells that he could cast. But he did not have to worry so much because Karna and Jeanne are here with him. The only thing they changed was their appearance and gears.

However, gears are everything in YGGDRASIL, if a level 80 player fight against a level 100 the player who is level 100 would win but if the level 80 player have better gears, the fight would be even and it would come down to who has better skills and reflexes.

If the situation warranted it, he would remove his armor and use magic. But if he did that, he would have to kill his companions or alter their memories, and Ainz did not want that at all.

It's a pain in the ass.

Ainz turned to look at his friends and Narberal, who all nodded under his gaze.

The four of them had already discussed their plans for emergencies. Narberal would cast magic of the fifth tier if things came to that. And if that did not work either, Ainz would shed his armor and take the situation a little seriously.

And if all fails, Karna and Jeanne would go all out.

As he saw the two of them make eye contact — although Ainz was still wearing his full helm — It would seem that Lukrut was under some sort of misconception. He addressed Narberal and Jeanne in an airy, light hearted tone:

"It'll be fine, don't worry. Things won't be too troublesome as long as we don't get ambushed. And nothing will escape my eyes and ears when I'm in charge. I'm great, aren't I, ladies?"

In response to Lukrut's earnest demeanor, Narberal merely sneered and Karna slightly glared.

"Momon-san, may I have permission to pulverize this… inferior life form (Aedes mosquito)?"

"Ah, Nabe-san graced me with her cold words!"

Everyone smiled bitterly as Lukrut raised his thumb, but they did not seem to mind Narberal harsh retorts. They did not think that Narberal really thought of humans in general as inferior lifeforms, just certain individuals (Lukrut) in particular.

Ainz denied Narberal's heartfelt request, feeling a cramping pain in his nonexistent gut. If only she could hide her inner thoughts while travelling around humans...

Nfirea seemed to have misunderstood something, and he interrupted from the side:

"It'll be fine. In truth, the region from here to Carne Village is the territory of the "Wise King of the Forest." Therefore, we shouldn't meet any monsters unless our luck is very bad."

"The 'Wise King of the Forest?"

Ainz recalled what he had learned in Carne Village.

The Wise King of the Forest was a monster that could use magic, and it was frighteningly powerful. Because its lair was in the depths of the forest, there were virtually no eye-witness reports about it, although its existence had been a topic of discussion since a very long time ago. Some people called it a four-legged silver beast with a snake for a tail, which had lived for hundreds of years.

Ah, I'd like to see it. He did not know if the stories were true or false, but if it really had lived all these years, it should possess a surprising intellect. After all, it was called the Wise King of the Forest. If he could capture it… he should be able to strengthen Nazarick.

Ainz pieced together a hazy image of what he thought the monster looked like in his mind.

With a name like "Wise King of the Forest," it might be an animal previously thought extinct… like a monkey perhaps… ah, an orangutan? That name means "man of the forest..." or was that "sage?" And it has a snake for a tail… does a monster like that exist?

Ainz felt that YGGDRASIL might have a monster like that. After racking his brains, he found an answer:

A Nue! ...That creature has a monkey's head, a raccoon's body, the limbs of a tiger, and a snake's tail… although I'm not sure if it really is an YGGDRASIL monster. It might have been summoned, just like those angels.

Just as Ainz thought of YGGDRASIL's Nue, Lukrut called out to Narberal and Jeanne again in a flighty tone:

"Well then, if we complete this mission perfectly, I wonder if you lovely ladies affection towards me will go up a little more?"

Narberal clicked her tongue, her disgust welling up from the bottom of her heart.

'As if a supreme being like lady jeanne would have an affection toward a lowly life form like you'

Lukrut put on an exaggerated look of shock, but nobody spoke up for him. Everyone seemed to treat them as a comedy duo.

In this way, everyone chatted as they progressed forward, under the blazing sun that tanned skin. Their boots were covered in the juices of trampled grass and smelled of plants.

As he watched everyone wiping their sweat, Ainz was extremely grateful for his undead body. The strong sunlight did not fatigue him, and even wearing this clumsy, heavy armor did not tire him out.

Only Lukrut remain energetic and cheerful, talking and laughing with the others, who were marching in silence:

"It's okay guys, you don't have to be so alert. After all, nothing escapes my eyes and ears. Even Nabe-chan trusts me, look how relaxed she is."

"It's not because of you. It's because we have Momon and Siegfried."

Narberal frowned. Sensing that something drastic might happen, Ainz put her hand on Narberal's shoulder and her face immediately softened.

Seeing their interaction, Lukrut tossed out a question:

"Huh, so it looks like you and Momon really are lovers?"

"His, his lover! What are you saying!? That should be Albedo-sama!"

"Idiot!" Karna shouted despite himself. "What are you saying, Nabe!?"

"Ah!"

Narberal's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth. Jeanne coughed, and then for the first time, she coldly said:

"...Lukrut-san, could you not make baseless speculations?"

"...Ah — sorry about that. It was just a joke. But ah — does that mean you have a significant other already, Momon-san?"

The bowing Lukrut did not look remorseful at all, but Ainz was not as angry as Karna was just now. It would seem picking Narberal for this expedition was a foolish decision.

Still, despite his poor choice, Ainz had no alternatives in the matter. After all, he had nobody else to draw upon besides her. Almost all the NPCs made by the guild of heteromorphic beings, Ainz Ooal Gown, were heteromorphic beings themselves. There were very few among them who could be brought into a human city. As for Narberal, at least she had a human appearance, even if it was a disguise. Thus, she was one of the few people he could use… though he had not factored her personality into the equation when he made his choice.

Given the present circumstances, perhaps another battle maid, Lupusregina Beta, might have been a better choice, but it was too late to regret his decision at this point.

Narberal's face was ashen white from her gaffe. Ainz patted her on the back several times to put her at ease. A good boss had to forgive the first mistake his subordinates made. The scolding would come when they repeated their mistakes. It would be bad if she fell into despair or withdrew from them, thus affecting their movements.

The important thing was that she had only mentioned Albedo's name. There was no need to alter their memories… probably.

"Lukrut, don't talk nonsense and stay alert."

"Got it."

"Momon-san, I'm very sorry for my colleague's rudeness. We know that prying into other people's private lives is taboo."

"No, no. I'm willing to let it be water under the bridge as long as you can be more careful in the future."

The two of them looked at Lukrut's back in unison, and they heard something along the lines of "Ah — Nabe-chan hates me now. Uuu, her affection value must be a negative number," as Lukrut rounded his shoulders in defeat.

"That idiot…! I'll scold him after this. I pray you will pay no heed to what he just said."

"Well, about that… Hm. I'll leave that task to you, then. Since Lukrut's on lookout duty, we can leave that to him, and I'll talk a bit about myself."

"It's fine, it's fine. We'll make him work hard for the trouble he's caused you."

After Peter smiled to Ainz, Karna decided to asked Ninya a few things concerning magic Dyne — switching places with Karna — fell back to walk alongside Jeanne.

"I have some things to ask you about magic."

After seeing Ninya nodded his head, Karna began with his questions. Nfirea seemed interested in their conversation and looked over.

"People who have been charmed or dominated by magic might reveal the information they carry. Is there a magical countermeasure that causes people to die after being questioned several times?"

"I've never heard of a spell like that."

Karna turned, and his head to faced Nfirea.

"Me neither. There are ways to modify a spell so it activates at a certain time, but I don't think they're as elaborate as what you describe."

"...I see."

Karna was slightly disappointed when he did not get the answer he was looking for.

If that was the case, he would have to worry about how to deal with the surviving members of the Sunlight Scripture later.

Since there were so few survivors left, it would be a waste to expend them to no effect. In order to discover why they vanished after death, he had vivisected them with magical medical techniques, but it had ended up as a bust. If they died from that, should he continue prying information from them? After all, losing one man meant losing the chance to ask three questions.

Even more regrettable was the case of Nigun, who had been the first to die. They had lost Nigun, who knew the most, for the sake of a few simple questions.

Still, that loss let Karna know that he could not take on this world with his knowledge of YGGDRASIL alone, so that could be counted as a lesson learned. At the very least, they had learned how to proceed from that failure.

As Karna thought distractedly, Ninya continued speaking:

"That said, I only know a little bit about magic. Perhaps countries which trained magic casters on a national level could create spells like that. The Slaine Theocracy has academies for clerics — divine magic casters — while the Empire has institutes which produce their arcaners, sorcerers, wizards, and other arcane magic casters. Then there's places like the Agrand Republic, which uses something like the spells born of the wisdom of the dragons."

"I see. In other words, spells like that could be created with the assistance of an entire country."

According to the information obtained earlier, the Agrand Republic was a nation of demihumans, ruled by a council. It was in opposition to the Slaine Theocracy, which championed the concept of human supremacy. The most interesting thing about them were five of their councillors, who were dragons said to possess awesome power.

Ainz And Jeanne who was also listening in was very interested in that country, but they had not found their feet in this world yet, and did not have the excess energy to spread their influence to that nation at the moment. Just keeping their current schemes running required a considerable amount of Nazarick's manpower.

"Then, may I ask about something else?"

Karna continued questioning Ninya as he walked, until he was satisfied.

He asked Ninya and Peter so many things that the other Swords of Darkness looked at him with eyes that said, "Are they still talking?" The topics he touched on were quite diverse, including magic, martial arts, adventurers, the politics of the region, among other things.

Although he had to ask his questions carefully, the answers were still very helpful. Karna was certain that this had greatly increased his knowledge about this world.

Yet, he did not feel that was enough. Learning about one thing made him curious about other things, especially when it came to the topic of magic. It was quite surprising what a world would become if it was based on magic.

The greatest influence of that could be seen in the technological level of this world. It looked like it was in the Middle Ages, but in truth it was closer to the Modern Age. The reason for these advances in technology was magic.

After knowing this, Karna gave up on trying to understand the technology of this world. As a person born in a world advanced through the power of science, there was no way for him to draw parallels between what he knew and a world that had developed with the aid of magic. For instance, there were spells that produced salt, sugar, and spices, as well as spells which restored nutrients to the soil, removing the need for a fallow period in agriculture.

Then, there was the fact that the sea was apparently not salty. All these facts about the world were vastly removed from what Karna had expected from his knowledge.

Karna lost track of time in the process of carefully satisfying his curiosity.

"Movement," Lukrut suddenly said, in a voice which held a hint of tension. It was completely different from the flighty attitude he had taken while flirting with Nabe and Artoria. In his place was a professional, seasoned adventurer.

Everyone turned to the direction where Lukrut was looking, and readied their weapons.

"Where?"

"There. Over there," Lukrut said in response to Peter's question. He pointed at a corner of the forest, but nobody could see anything through the clutter of the forest. Even so, none of them doubted him.

"What should we do?"

"We shouldn't force our way in. If they don't leave the forest, we'll leave them alone."

"Then, the smartest thing to do is follow the plan and have Nfirea-shi fall back!"

As they discussed their next move, there were movements in the forest, and then monsters slowly revealed themselves.

There were fifteen creatures that were the size of children, surrounding six huge creatures.

The first group were the demihumans called Goblins.

Their twisted faces had flattened noses, while two fangs thrust forth from their ravening maws. Their skin was a bright brown, while their filthy, matted black hair looked like it had been styled by wax.

They wore tattered clothes, which were burnt sienna, though it was unknown whether it was dyed that color or stained that way by dirt. On top of that, they had fashioned tanned animal hides into a crude form of armor. Each held a wooden club in one hand and a small shield in the other.

They were evil-looking monsters, born of the mating of human and apes.

The less numerous creatures were huge, roughly two hundred fifty to three hundred centimeters in height.

Their lower jaws jutted out, and they looked retarded.

Their heavily muscled arms looked like tree trunks. Their hands nearly dragged on the ground due to their hunchbacked stance. They used logs as clubs, and wore animal skins around their waists. They reeked so much that the adventurers could smell them over the long distance separating them.

Their tanned brown skin was covered in warts, while their muscular chests and bellies looked quite striking. At a glance, they looked to be very strong, and they resembled shaven, distorted chimpanzees.

They were demihumans known as Ogres.

Almost all of them seemed to carry tattered bags, as though for a long journey.

The monsters watched the adventurers warily as they advanced onto the grassy plains. They might have been some distance away, but there was an unmistakable hostility on their ugly faces.

"...There's quite a number of them. Looks like we can't avoid a fight."

"Mm, that's right. Goblins and Ogres are the kind who'll attack once they outnumber their opponents. Or rather, I should say that intelligent beings would probably not judge their opponents' strength simply by their numbers."

The three supreme beings could understand and accept this, but the fact that it was completely different from how it was in the game left them somewhat confused.

Be it in height or skin color, Ogres and Goblins before him all differed from each other. In other words, they were not identical individuals. It felt like he was faced with twenty one unknown monsters.

"Reality's different from the game, huh." Artoria whispered.

"A little" Karna said as he kept his eye on the monsters before him.

He felt like he was fighting unknown monsters in an unexplored region, without the benefit of a walkthrough site. As he recalled the feeling of that battle in Carne, Karna began muttering to himself.

"Then, Siegfried."

"...Oh, is something the matter?"

"Earlier, we agreed to divide them in half, but how shall we assign them now?"

"Can't we split into two teams and dispatch the enemy as they come to us?"

"It would be troublesome if they all went to one side. Nabe-san, can you use 「Fireball」 to eliminate all the Goblins in one go?"

"I cannot use 「Fireball」. The strongest spell I can use is 「Lightning」."

Ainz thought about the restrictions he had given her earlier.

"「Lightning」 is a spell that pierces in a straight line, right?"

"Then, what if we got the enemies to form up into a line, and then take them all out in one shot from the side?"

"In that case, we'd need a defensive line that can take the enemy's charge…"

"Let me handle that. Can I trust you gentlemen with protecting Nfirea-san on the wagon?"

"Momon-san…"

"If a few Ogres could give me a hard time, then I'd be all talk. Everyone, please watch how I slaughter those Ogres."

As they heard Ainz's confident voice, understanding dawned on the faces of the Swords of Darkness. Their hearts filled with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they could leave that task to him without having to worry.

"Understood. However, we can't just watch the enemy attack, so we'll support you from the side as much as possible."

"Do you need any support magic?"

"Ah, not for us. Friends from Swords of Darkness, please focus on supporting your comrades." Artoria erasured.

"Please permit us to refuse. If we begin the engagement so close to the forest, there's a chance the enemy might slip past."

"If that's the case, I'll handle it?"

"But..."

"Its fine, you guys can protect Nfirea" Karna said "Momon and me will handle any ogres that came close while Artoria with be supporting us with magic, I'll leave any stray goblin to you"

"It kinda unfair, you guys will be doing most of the work and this is our job, however, I agree with your plan, there to many ogres for us to handle but are guys sure you can handle all those ogres" Peter said.

Ainz look at Peter and recalled YGGDRASIL once more. Back then, Ainz and his comrades hunted monsters with the same repeated movements; baiting, luring, blocking, and then attacking. They could fight well as a group because they were thoroughly familiar with each others' strengths.

Perhaps he was being biased, but Ainz earnestly believed that their coordination was not an easy thing to replicate. The Swords of Darkness could not possibly compare to them, though he could see something like his own teamwork in their movements.

"You'll see once it begins," Ainz said, terminating the conversation with a curt reply.

The swords of darkness took defensive position around Nfirea.

At the same time, Ainz, Karna And Jeanne — followed by his Narberal — strolled leisurely forward.

They walked like they were taking a stroll, not standing fast against charging monsters.

As the Ogres running at the head of the mob approached him, Ainz reached his hands behind his back to grasp the hilts of his swords. Karna too reached under his red cloak and brought forth his sheathed sword, while Jeanne and Narberal stand behind the two warriors with magic ready.

Momon brandished his greatswords, tracing two great arcs in the air.

The dazzling light reflecting off the blades made the Swords of Darkness gasp in surprise.

The swords that Ainz wielded — each over one hundred fifty centimeters long — looked exceptionally ornate. They resembled works of art more than tools of war.

A pair of intertwined serpents were carved into the blades. Their tips were rounded and wider across than the rest of the sword, like a pair of opened fans. The edges radiated a cold, sharp radiance.

They were the weapons of a hero.

Ainz was holding a pair of hero's swords.

As they beheld his majestic figure, Swords of Darkness drew a breath in unison. If what they had seen before made them gasp, what they saw now was a scene that struck them dumb.

Swords got heavier the longer they were. Long swords like the ones Ainz was holding could not be wielded easily, even with weight-reducing magic. Granted, they already knew that Ainz possessed preternatural arm strength from their short time with him, but even so, they could not believe anyone could swing those greatswords with such ease.

As they look over to Siegfried, they saw an equally impressive sword as Ainz, though it was not as big as Ainz great sword, it was more majestic. The sword was a long, straight blade that resembles a japanese sword, the sword was known as a katana, the hilt was a soiled black and the blade was pure black with a red streak at it eged. The guard stood out the most because it had a golden dragon eating it own tail, symbolizing ouroboros.

Ainz casually whipped his great sword through the air like a pair of sticks. Truly, it was an awe-inspiring sight.

Karna draw his sword with the graces of a master swordsman. As he drew his black blade it left a black streak, a second later, a long thin line appeared in front of the rampaging goblins and ogres, immediately stopping there advance.

"Whow... who are these people…" Peter breathed, as though speaking for everyone else.

As a warrior himself, he immediately knew just how strong one's swings would have to be to pull off a stunt like that. His shock was because he had no idea how long Siegfried had trained to reach that level of ability. Although he had always felt that Siegfried was on a different level from himself, being confronted with the truth made his legs tremble uncontrollably.

Even the unintelligent Goblins were terrified by the sight of Ainz and Siegfried their legs slowing from their mad dash as they went around him to go for Peter and the others.

Only the Ogres, who were too stupid to be afraid and who were supremely confident in their brawn, continued heading toward the two supreme beings.

As they closed in on them, the Ogres raised their clubs.

Ainz's greatswords might have been huge, but the Ogres, with their massive greatclubs, had a longer reach than him. But just as the Ogres were about to make their move, Ainz stepped forward.

His movements were as swift as the wind. And then, faster than that, he swung the greatsword in his right hand. The flashing blade left a silvery afterimage in its wake as it cleaved through the air.

The stroke was an astounding one — it raised goosebumps on the onlookers' skin. Even though the blade was not aimed at them, they could not help but feel that death stood by their side.

It was over in a single blow.

Ainz turned his gaze from the Ogre in front of him, seeking another target. As though waiting for Ainz to look away, the upper body of the Ogre slid off and fell wetly to the ground, leaving its motionless lower body still standing. Yet, a spray of blood and organs and the vile stench that hung in the air proved that this was not an illusion.

The Ogre had been cut diagonally in half.

Another ogre charge toward Siegfried, he raised up his clubs and swing his clubs in hopes of hitting something. Siegfried dodges every swing the ogre made, as he places his hand on the black hilt of his sword, he drew it just enough for the black blade to be seen out of the red sheath.

It was silent for a moment. Blood splatter all over the ground as the giant ogre fell, it was completely slice apart.

The battle was still on, but both sides were motionless. They were staring at this awesome sight.

The two ogres was slain in a single blow by Momon and Siegfried. Not even an Ogre's mighty physique could save it from the fate of being cut in two.

"...Amazing."

Someone muttered those words, which carried clearly across the silent battlefield.

"...Absolutely incredible. This is beyond mithril or orichalcum… no, could he be adamantite?"

Cleaving a foe into two parts.

This was not an impossible feat of arms. A rare few exponents of swordsmanship — or those bearing powerful magic weapons — might be able to do it. However, it was common sense that one could not use one's full strength when wielding a two-handed greatsword with one hand. After all, two-handed weapons were, as the name implied, intended to be wielded with both hands, using the weight of the weapon and the leverage of its length to do damage. They were not intended to be wielded by arm-strength alone.

Therefore, from Ainz and Karna movements, the possibility existed that his sword might be enchanted with magic beyond the ken of normal magic items, or that Ainz and Karna with one hand each was stronger than a regular warrior with both arms, or both.

In the face of this jaw-dropping sight, the Ogres unconsciously stopped moving, and began backing off with looks of fear on their faces. Then Jeanne strode forth, shrinking the distance between herself and the Ogres.

On her part, Jeanne closed the gap to the Ogres with startling speed. Her movements were swift, with a speed that someone wearing a suit of plate armor should not have possessed.

"Uooooh—!"

With a cry that sounded like a cross between a wail of despair and a shout, the Ogre before her raised his great club to smite the oncoming Jeanne. However, everyone here knew in their guts that the Ogre was far, far too slow.

As Jeanne closed in, she unshealth her sword at her waist and with that, the Ogre's upper body spun through the air, landing some distance away from the rest of its body.

This time, it had been transversely bisected.

"Isn't she supposed to be a magic caster, how can she be that strong!?"

As yet another breathtaking scene unfolded before their eyes, none of them could bring themselves to refute Dyne's words.

"...Then, as for the rest of you...:"

Karna stepped forward. The ugly faces of the ogres froze, and they retreated even faster.

The Goblins circled around the Ogres and Ainz's defensive line to attack Peter and the others. Swords of Darkness, stunned by the sights they had just seen, managed to react to the assault and began moving.

Peter raised his broadsword and large shield, prepared to take on the ten or so Goblins headed toward him. He slashed forward, sending a Goblin's head flying into the air, and then Peter evaded the arterial spray before entering melee with the other Goblins.

"Protect Nfirea!"

The yellow toothed Goblins responded with a garbled cry that was hard on the ears.

Peter adroitly blocked the Goblin's club with his shield, while his magically reinforced armor took the rest of the hits with a low-pitched sound.

"「Magic Arrow」."

Two magical missiles struck the Goblin trying to attack Peter from behind. It collapsed like its strings had been cut.

Half of the Goblins surrounding Peter rushed the other three adventurers, but none of the Goblins dared attack Narberal, who stood beside the storm of death called Ainz.

Lukrut put down his composite longbow and drew a short sword from his waist. Together with Dyne, who wielded a mace, the two of them ran to Ninya and placed their backs against his.

Lukrut and Dyne were matched against five Goblins, and the odds seemed roughly even. Although the Goblins were being eliminated one by one, it was still very time consuming, under the present circumstances. Lukrut's face was a mask of pain as he endured the pain from his arm — it had been struck by a Goblin's club — as he thrust his shortsword into the gaps of his opponent's leather armor. Dyne had taken several hits as well, and as a result his movements slowed down, but he was not in any mortal danger.

Ninya surveyed the battlefield anxiously, with an eye toward conserving his spells. Although some of the ogres were immobilized by magic, he might have to deal with them if the situation changed.

As for Peter, he was engaged in a fierce battle with six Goblins, and the struggle went back and forth several times.

The reason why they had not been overwhelmed by eleven Goblins was because the Goblins' charge had been blunted. After seeing Ainz, Karna and Jeanne preternatural ability to kill Ogres in one blow, the Goblins' morale plummeted, and they could not make up their mind whether to flee or fight.

Then, Ainz swung his sword in a grand, sweeping arc, as though announcing his intent to utterly demoralize the Goblins.

As the sound of the displaced air swept into everyone's ears, they could hear the sound of a heavy weight hitting the ground. It was soon followed by two more such sounds.

Just as everyone had expected, the number of Ogre corpses steadily increased. There were two more Ogres struggling to hold on to life. One of them was pinned down by the grass, while the other was quaking in fear before Karna.

Ainz's helmet turned to face the last Ogre who was still opposing him. The Ogre seemed to sense Ainz's expression through the slits of his closed helm, because it made a strange cry before turning to flee, discarding its greatclub as it ran for the forest. It was moving faster than when it charged, but there was no escape for it.

"Nabe, your turn."

As the merciless order rang through the air, Narberal — who had been standing by behind Ainz — nodded slightly.

"**[Chain Lightning]**."

The electrical discharge thundered through the air as it leapt forth, and the stroke of lightning cleanly pierced the fleeing Ogre's body. It even went through the Ogre behind it, the one which had been entangled by Dyne's spell.

That single spell finished off two Ogres.

"Run!"

"Run away! Run away!"

The Goblins, who had watched this scene in stunned silence, began fleeing as they screamed in terror. However, Peter was too fast for them, and the demoralized Goblins were no threat to him.

The adventurers felled the Goblins two and three at a time. In addition, Ninya — no longer bound to conserve mana — began throwing attack spells into the fray. In the blink of an eye, the Goblins had been crushed, with no survivors.

Amidst the vile corpse-stench that hung in the air, Dyne healed Lukrut's and Peter's wounds with the spell 「Light Healing」. With nothing else to do, Ninya began cutting off the Goblins' ears with a dagger.

They would be paid for turning in the ears to the guild. Of course, adventurers did not claim their bounty with monsters' ears alone. Rather, they submitted different body parts as appropriate for different types of monsters, However, Goblins and Ogres were demihumans, so for the most part, ears were used in their case.

Ninya cut the ears off with practiced ease, and then he noticed that Ainz and his party was looking around the place where most of the Ogres had died. They seemed to be searching for something.

"What's wrong?"

After hearing Ninya's question, Ainz lifted his head and replied:

"Ah, I was just thinking… do these monsters drop items, in particular, crystals or the like?"

"...Crystals? I've never heard of Ogres carrying anything like crystals."

"I see. I was just wondering if they carried treasure."

"Indeed. I'd be jumping for joy if Ogres had treasure too," Ninya replied as he removed the Ogres' ears with practiced movements.

"Still… you guys were amazing. I knew you were strong and you are proud of your abilities, but I didn't think you guys would be that amazing."

As they heard Ninya's words, the other three adventurers, who had finished with their healing magic, told Ainz:

"That was great! I'm in awe of you, as a fellow warrior. How did you and Siegfried train up your arms like that?"

"I thought you were quite wealthy from the way you were accompanied by Nabe-chan, but what kind of swords are those? I've never seen such valuable-looking swords before and what are those swords you use Siegfried?"

"I know now that what you said at the guild was not a bluff. Truly, you're on par with the Kingdom's mightiest warrior."

Narberal held her nose high as she watched from the side. However, Jeanne was frantically waving her hands.

"Oh, there's no need to say that, it was nothing much."

"Nothing much…"

Peter and friends smiled bitterly.

"...After that battle, I finally understand what they mean by 'always someone better.'"

"In time, I'm sure you'll all be able to surpass us with ease." Karna reassured.

Karna reply made the smiles of the Swords of Darkness' faces even more bitter.

Peter and the others had worked hard to make themselves stronger, and they had carefully saved all their earnings, using them to strengthen themselves. They could get along because they all shared the same goal. However, even when they looked back on all the effort they had put in since becoming adventurers, none of them could imagine themselves on Karna or Ainz levels. To the Swords of Darkness, Ainz, Karna and Jeanne stood upon a pinnacle that almost nobody could reach.

This person travelling with them would someday become a hero, whose name would be known to all. They would each become a great person that would stand atop all other adventurers.

Everyone was certain of that.

Although it was some time from dusk, the adventurers were already setting up camp.

Ainz took the wooden poles handed to him by others and erected them around the campsite. Because they had to shelter a horse and wagon, the campsite in question was around twenty meters on each side and covered a fairly large area.

The poles went into four points around the campsite, and then thin, blackened ropes were tied around the poles, forming a perimeter. Finally, they tied a knot in one of the ropes and pulled it over to their tents, where they attached a big bell to it. This was their alarm system.

As Ainz was driving the poles into the ground, Narberal came around.

...Narberal should have some work to do… maybe she's finished. But if that man (Lukrut) made her mad again, all I can do is gently reprimand her...

With those thoughts in mind, Ainz turned around. As he did, Narberal spoke in a low voice that suggested that she was holding back feelings of anger:

"...They should not be troubling you with work like this, my lord."

Ainz sighed in relief as he learned the reason for her anger. He looked around, and then quietly replied:

"Everyone's working together to pitch camp. It would be odd if I was the only one not doing anything, no?"

"Have they not seen your extraordinary fighting skills? People should do what they are suited for, so this sort of work should be left to weaklings like them."

"Don't say that. Listen, we need to establish ourselves as powerful individuals, but we mustn't project an image of arrogance while we do it. You need to check yourself a little too." Jeanne said sternly as she and Karna walk next to Ainz.

Narberal nodded to show that she understood, but her displeasure was evident on her face. She was only going along with this because it was an express order from Jeanne herself.

Jeanne could tell that her loyalty was enough to overcome her unhappiness. On the other hand, the thought that her might cause a slip-up at an inopportune time made Jeanne feel uneasy.

The truth was that Jeanne was having a lot of fun with these outdoor activities. After all, this was something she could not experience in the virtual world of YGGDRASIL, let alone real life, and thus it was filled with novelty. Although the whole thing had taken too much time, it also reminded Jeanne of the adventures she had exploring unknown places in YGGDRASIL.

And she was sure Ainz and Karna fely the same way.

If I was the only one who came to this new world, without the whole of Nazarick with me, I'd probably have gone travelling without a second thought.

She being an Angel did not need to eat, or drink. That being the case, they could climb high mountains with their own two legs, or walk into the ocean depths. Or just fly, she would have enjoyed herself by witnessing the unknown vistas of the world.

However, now that her comrades' treasures — her and her friends loyal subordinates — were here, Jeanne felt that she should repay their loyalty by ruling Nazarick well.

The group of four cast their thoughts aside and calmly returned to their work. After hammering the four wooden poles into the ground, they tied the rope around them and then raised the tent over it.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Think nothing of it."

Lukrut was inside the tent, and he thanked Ainz without looking at him. It was kind of rude, but it was not as though he was slacking off either. He had been digging a hole for a stove since just now.

The magic caster — Ninya — was pacing about the surroundings, incanting a spell as he went. This was an 「Alarm」 spell, and as the name suggests, it was a spell of warning that would trigger if anything trespassed on their camp. Though it had a small area of effect, it was still useful just in case.

This spell, which did not exist in YGGDRASIL, made Ainz narrowed his eyes.

Although he had handed the task of learning about unknown magic to other people, as a magic caster, he still felt the desire to know about spells he had never seen before.

The magic Ninya used was a spell of the arcane type, like the kind that Ainz and Karna could cast. In addition, it looked very similar to a YGGDRASIL spell. Ainz had used a racial skill called Dark Wisdom to perform a rite which increased the number of spells he knew.

Could I learn spells that weren't in YGGDRASIL by making a live sacrifice? Or is there another way? There's so many things I know nothing about...

As Ninya realised Ainz was staring at himself, he smiled and drew closer to Ainz.

"Ah, there's no need to watch me so intently. It must be pretty boring, right?"

"Well, I'm curious about magic, and I'm interested in what you're doing, Ninya-san."

"No way… I'm probably far below Nabe-san, aren't I?"

"It's because you know spells that Nabe doesn't." Jeanne gave a smile.

Narberal nodded slightly, but Ainz and Karna noticed from the corner of their eyes that the look on her face was more of jealousy than regret.

"I'd like to cast spells like you, Ninya-san."

"You're greedy, Momon-san. To think you'd want spellcasting ability even though your swordsmanship is so amazing… no, I should say that you're being an adventurer, right?"

"Magic doesn't seem like the sort of thing you can learn in one or two days. Well, you need to connect to the world, but only people with the appropriate talent can do it. If not, you'll need to take a long time to experience it."

Those words came from Lukrut, who had cut in without turning to look from where he was setting up the campfire. Ninya's face turned serious:

"Mm. Momon-san, I think you have that talent and so do Siegfried and Artoria. You're different from other people… kind of like you guys not human at all…"

Ainz's non-existent heart seemed to lurch in his chest. Ainz wondered if Ninya had sensed that he was undead.

Although he had already veiled himself in illusions and counter-detection spells, Ninya might have seen through Ainz with an unknown spell or some other special ability. Therefore, Ainz asked Ninya:

"...Is that so? I feel that I am strong, but not inhumanly so. You've seen my face as well, so wouldn't you think that as well?"

"I'm not talking about appearances… it's just that after seeing you fight, you're clearly beyond the realm of humanity. Taking out an Ogre in one blow… as I thought, a real man gets by on strength, not looks. And you've got a beauty like Nabe-san and Artoria with you."

Upon closer consideration, Lukrut seemed to be saying that the illusionary face which Ainz showed them was an ugly one. However, when he thought about the looks of everyone he had met so far, Ainz could only sit down and accept his opinion.

There's too many handsome men and beautiful women in this world! Even the passers-by look attractive. After coming here, I've got a worse opinion of my own looks...

'Their getting suspicious, great what now..? Karna thought.

"Appearances aside, Lukrut has a point. A hero is someone who surpasses the realm of human possibility. I get that feeling from you guys too."

"No, that's too much… we wouldn't dare claim to be any sort of hero, even if it was to be polite." Jeanne said.

As Jeanne feigned embarrassment while answering Ninya, she resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

"If it's convenient for you… would you like to meet my master? Master's talent lies in detecting an individual's magical power. If you were born with magical potential, Master should be able to sense it. When it comes to arcane magic casters, Master can even differentiate between them by the tiers of magic which they can cast."

"I've been meaning to ask for a while… is that talent the same as the one possessed by the Empire's head magician?" Karna asked.

"Yes, it's the same talent."

Karna could not let information like this slip through his hands. He had to continue asking about it.

"...What is this ability like?"

"Ahh, according to Master, we magic casters radiate something like an aura from our bodies. The more adept one becomes in magic, the stronger this aura becomes. Master has the ability to see these auras."

"Oh… oh."

The three supreme beings immediately suppressed the quiet surprise in their tone, and in order to cover it up, promptly responded in a more normal tone.

"This was how Master gathered up talented children and trained them in magic. I was recruited by Master in that way," Ninya continued.

Karna nodded and cursed silently in his heart. There's people with abilities like that. This could be troublesome...

"Then, if I wanted to learn how to cast spells, where should I begin?"

"For starters, you'd need a proper teacher."

"...And how about becoming your disciple, Ninya-san?"

"Hm… you should probably find someone more skilled than myself. However, schools in the Kingdom are very exclusive and people without connections can't join the guilds that handle magic. Even if you could join, most of the recruits would be immature kids. It would be very difficult for someone of your age to get in without some kind of special networking, Momon-san. On that note, the Empire has a full-fledged magical academy, and the Theocracy has a very high standard of magical education as well, though that's for divine magic."

"I see, so if I entered the Empire's magical academy, I could learn magic?" Karna asked.

"That would be pretty difficult. The academy is an educational institution run by the government, so I think you'd have to be a citizen of the Empire to study there."

"Is that so…"

"And as for becoming my disciple, though I apologise for it, I must refuse. I have something I want to do, and I don't have the free time to train people."

Ninya's face went grim. There were hints of hostility amidst the negative emotion there.

Maybe I shouldn't pry too deeply. There's no merit to doing so.

Just as Karna came to that conclusion, Lukrut interrupted his train of thought with casual words:

"Oi~ sorry to interrupt your conversation, but dinner's ready. Do you mind calling those three back here?"

"Let me go, Momon-san."

"Ehhhh~ Nabe-chan, you're going off? Why not stay with me and make a dinner filled with love?"

"Die, inferior being (centipede). Unless you want me to pour boiling oil down your throat so you can't utter such nonsense again?"

"Enough, Nabe. Let's go together."

"Yes! Understood!"

After thanking Ninya, Ainz approached the two people working quietly on the ground, a short distance from the tent.

Peter and Dyne were focused on caring for their weapons. They oiled them to prevent rust from building up, inspected them carefully to see if they were bent, and so on.

There were fresh dents on their armor, and cracks on their swords from where they had clashed with the Goblins' weapons. Naturally, these defects had to be remedied as soon as possible, and the two of them were so focused that Ainz did not know whether he should call out to them.

After telling them that dinner was ready, Karna informed Nfirea about the matter at the place where the wagon was tied up, a short distance away.

The sun touched the horizon, and the group had their dinner against the ruby radiance of its dying light.

In their hands, they held bowls of thick stew flavoured with bacon bits, as well as toasted bread, dried figs, walnuts, and other nuts. This was today's dinner.

Ainz looked at the bowl of stew in his hands. It appeared to be very salty. He could not feel the heat of the bowl through his metal gauntlets, but judging from the way everyone else was digging into it with big mouthfuls and not blowing on it to cool it down, it should have been just the right temperature.

Now then, what shall I do?

Ainz was undead, and he could not eat with this body of his. In addition, he had disguised his appearance with an illusion. If he tried to drink soup with his skeletal mouth and body, it would probably spill out right away.

He could not let the others see that, no matter what.

This was unknown food and drink from an unknown world. Though the dishes before him were plain fare, Ainz felt that it was a shame to not be able to enjoy them.

Though he no longer had a need or desire to eat, he was unhappy with the fact that he could not consume the delicious-looking food that piqued his curiosity.

For the first time since he had come to this world, he regretted this undead body of his.

'Poor Ainz….' Jeanne thought.

'...should've have taken my advice and play a different heterophic race…'

"Ah~ is there something you're scared of eating?" Lukrut asked as he noted that Ainz had not touched his food.

"No, it's just a personal matter." Karna cut in.

"Is that so? Then Momon you don't need to force yourself, right? Although, we're eating now, so could you take off your helmet?"

"Actually… It's a religious reason. He can't eat with more than four people on a day when He take life." Jeanne said.

"Oh… that's an unusual faith you follow, Momon-shi. Still, the world is large, and religions like that aren't particularly strange."

The doubt in their eyes faded away once they learned that it had something to do with religion.

It seems religions in this world are a complicated matter.

'Thank guys'

As Ainz thought that, he gave silent thanks to his friends. Then he asked Peter a question.

"I recall your team name is Swords of Darkness, but I don't see a black blade among you…?"

On the topic of the group's weapons, Peter used a longsword with an ordinary enchantment, Lukrut favored the bow and arrow, Dyne used a mace, and Ninya used a staff. Peter's sword and Lukrut's backup shortsword were both blades, but neither of them had a color that was anywhere close to "dark."

There was a technique to tint metal a different color by depositing a special powder on its surface, so creating a black sword was not a difficult task. Rather, it seemed odd that none of them bore a blade of that color.

"Ah, so it's that kind of question."

Lukrut smiled bitterly, as though someone had brought up an embarrassing memory. Ninya's face flushed bright red, a distinctly different color from the fire's glow.

"They're the swords of Ninya's dreams."

"Come on, that's enough, I was just being childish."

"That's nothing to feel bad about! It's important to have a great dream!"

"Give me a break Dyne, I'm serious."

Good-natured laughter accompanied Ninya's teasing by the other Swords of Darkness. Ninya, on the other hand, was so embarrassed that he was looking for a hole to crawl into. It would seem the name Swords of Darkness contained a secret that only its members knew.

"Well, the name 'Swords of Darkness' refers to the swords borne by one of the Thirteen Heroes."

The smiling Peter stopped there, seemingly unwilling to go any further.

'Even if he says that, I'm not sure what's going on… still, I know that the Thirteen Heroes were the superheroes who destroyed the Demon Gods, who were rampaging across the world two hundred years ago. If I'm ignorant about these heroes and their gear… would it be embarrassing? Or should I just say that I know?

The three supreme beings thoughts.

Just as Ainz, Karna and Jeanne was agonizing over this issue, Narberal cut in from aside.

"What are they?"

'Thank you Narberal!' The three mentally gave a thumbs up.

Ainz Jeanne and Karna struck a victory pose in his heart, but surprise crossed the faces of the members of Swords of Darkness.

Just about anyone would be shocked that someone knew nothing about the magic weapons for which the team was named.

"Nabe-chan, you didn't know?… Well, it's not as though it's unforgivable. He was one of the Thirteen Heroes, but because people thought he had demonic ancestry, he ended up being more of an anti-hero instead. Therefore, his origins were covered up in the saga of the Thirteen Heroes… though I've heard that he was a very powerful person."

"The Swords of Darkness belonged to the man known as 'Black Knight.' It was one of the four swords he possessed. There was the demonic blade Kilineyram, which could emit dark energy, the blade of rot, Crocdabal, which inflicted wounds that would not heal, the fatal blade Sfeiz, which could kill with the merest scratch, as well as the evil blade Hyumilis, whose powers are unknown."

"Oh—"

Everyone smiled bitterly at Narberal's unenthusiastic reply.

However, Ainz tilted his head in pensive musings. Those abilities seemed familiar.

After careful thought, the image of a vampire appeared in his mind. Those special abilities were similar to the skills possessed by Shalltear Bloodfallen, who had levels in the Cursed Knight class.

Cursed Knights had the backstory of being corrupted cleric-knights who had been cursed, and they were considered to be a very strong class in YGGDRASIL. However, they had a lot of drawbacks, so they were not very popular. Among the skills Cursed Knights could learn was the ability to release waves of darkness, inflict cursed wounds which could not be healed by low level healing spells, instant death curses, and so on.

Ainz narrowed his illusory eyes under his helmet. This was not a coincidence. While the Swords of Darkness might be weapons with powers similar to those of a Cursed Knight, it was more likely that the hero himself was a Cursed Knight.

If that were the case, when one considered the prerequisites to become a Cursed Knight, it was certain that this "Black Knight" was at least level sixty — no, if one considered that he had to actually learn all those skills as well, he would have to be at least level seventy.

It would seem the Demon Gods were evenly matched against heroes like that, so it was a reasonable hypothesis that their levels were roughly the same. However, Nigun of the Sunlight Scripture said that the Dominion Authority which he summoned could defeat a Demon God, so it would seem that the Demon Gods and Heroes were not on the same level.

After comparing this new information with what he already knew, it seemed logical that the Demon Gods were not all equally powerful. However, the only way to know for sure would be to meet that hero or obtain that sword.

As Ainz pondered this, the rest of the group continued talking. Ainz hurriedly shifted his attention to their conversation; it would be a shame to miss out on a chance to learn something because he was distracted.

"—So finding those swords was my first objective. There's a lot of legends about weapons out there, but some of them have been proven to exist. The thing is that the existence of the Swords of Darkness is still a mystery—"

"Ah, there's someone out there who possesses one of the Swords of Darkness."

After Nfirea calmly dropped that bombshell, the Swords of Darkness turned on him:

"Who, who's that!?"

"Uwah! Really? So that means there's only three left!"

"Oh, that means we won't be able to distribute them evenly to everyone now…"

Nfirea gingerly replied:

"Er, about that… the person who owns that sword is the leader of the adventuring party called 'Blue Rose.'"

"Geh, adamantite, you say? Adventurers like that? Then it can't be helped."

"That's true. Still, there's three of them left; let's work hard so we can be strong enough to take them into possession."

"Indeed. Since one of them is the real deal, that means that the other three exist as well. I hope these swords are hidden in a place that nobody's discovered us."

"Ninya, you'd best write it down in your diary so you don't forget."

"I know, I'll write it down for sure. However, the stuff in there is personal, so shouldn't you memorize it instead?"

"It's better to have a hard copy!"

"Is that the problem, Dyne…"

"Still, we have 'that.'"

"What is 'that?'" Said Jeanne.

"This, Artoria."

Peter took a dagger with four jewels embedded into its scabbard. It had a black blade.

"Before we discover the real thing, I planned to use this as the party's symbol…"

"Still, 'Blade of Darkness' would work just as well as 'Swords of Darkness,'" right? Come to think of it, it's not as though it's a fake. It'll make the perfect symbol of our group!"

"Oooh, Lukrut's making sense for once!"

The adventurers laughed, radiating an air of camaraderie.

the three supreme beings was affected by this as well, and smiled in response. They probably felt the same way about that dagger as Ainz, Karna And Jeanne did about the staff which represented the guild.

The dinner conversation continued, and Swords of Darkness, having the advantage of numbers, tossed questions out at Ainz, Jeanne Karna And Narberal.

Ainz responded as best as he could, but he still felt a barrier separating him from Swords of Darkness. This was because Ainz lacked knowledge about this world, and he could not engage too fully lest his ignorance be revealed. Thus, Ainz kept quiet about things he did not know, which in turn led to him drawing even further away from the adventurers in a vicious cycle.

Though Karna having the better people skills, improvise and came up with a good backstory and was able to gain much information about certain lores and legend of this world. See this made Ainz slightly jealous.

Though the adventurers tried to chat up Narberal, all she did was respond with the verbal equivalent of a home run, leaving them with no way to respond. Eventually, they slowly stopped trying to speak to her.

However Jeanne was a different story as her present brightened up their spirit. Though she was not a very social person she was able to do the same as Karna as their IRL jobs was quite similar. Everyone eventually gravitated toward Jeanne, Karna And Ainz.

Nfirea, on the other hand, was handling this quite well.

As a native of this world, he got along better with others than the three. He was observant and could follow the adventurers' discussion well.

...It's nothing. I had friends like these once. The three supreme beings thought with sadness.

These childish thoughts, almost like a tantrum, ran through Karna head as he watched the others chatting happily in the campfire's light.

They seemed very close to each other, but that was only to be expected of a group of comrades who trod the edge of life and death in each other's company. Nfirea had a look of envy on his face as he looked upon them.

Jeanne recalled her friends from the past, she silently and quietly ground her teeth in jealousy.

—Once, she had been like them.

She took a quick glance at Ainz and Karna and saw that they were no different.

"...Well, you seem like a chummy bunch. Are all adventurers like that?" Nfirea asked.

"I should think so. After all, adventurers are colleagues who face death together. It'd be dangerous if they didn't understand each other and what they planned to do. So somewhere along the way, adventurers end up being quite close to each other."

"Indeed. After all, we don't have any women in our team. I heard that parties with women tend to have a lot of arguments."

"...Yeah."

With an indecipherable smile, Ninya continued:

"And if there were, Lukrut would be the first to raise questions. After all, our group has a very clear objective, right?"

Peter and the others nodded in unison.

"...Just like that. It feels completely different when everyone is of one mind."

"Hmm? were you guys in an adventuring party before the one you already have?"

Ainz did not know how to answer Nfirea's question, but right now, he had no need to make up some strange excuses to cover it up.

"We probably didn't count as… adventurers."

He could not help but take a somber tone as he thought about his past friends. After all, he still had emotions — even though his body was undead — and his friends were the people that Ainz treasured most.

Sensing Ainz's difficulty in answering, nobody pursued the matter, and a silence fell upon the group.

Amidst this quiet, so deep and so total that it felt like they were the only people in the world, Karna unconsciously raised his head and looked into the star-studded night sky.

"When I was still weak and hopeless, a paladin of pure white with sword and shield in hand saved me. Through him, I met four more comrades. And so, we formed a team that numbered six people, including myself. In addition, after that, we met three more weak people like ourselves, and we ended up as a team of nine people."

"Ohh—" someone exclaimed quietly, amidst the crackling of the campfire. However, Karna was not bothered, and Ainz take his place, continued recounting the story of the original nine members of what would become Ainz Ooal Gown.

"They were all excellent companions. A paladin, a swordmaster, a priest, an ass… a thief, a two-sword nin… a two-sword thief, a sorcerer, a chef, a blacksmith… they were all irreplaceable friends. We had countless adventures together, and even now, I still haven't been able to forget those days."

Through them, he had learned the meaning of friendship. He once thought he would have been ignored in YGGDRASIL, like in the real world, but unlike reality, they ended up being the best of friends, who would extend a helping hand to each other at any time. And so, as the number of group members steadily increased, they shared their joys and their sorrows together.

Therefore, the guild called Ainz Ooal Gown was a treasure to Ainz. He would ensure its brilliance was never diminished, even if he had to discard or destroy everything to do so.

The three of them silently converse and reminisce about the good old days of their once glorious guild, the guild was not just that to the three, it was a home virtual or not. Ainz Ooal Gown was the world to them.

"I'm sure you'll find companions like them again someday."

In response to Ninya's comforting words, Ainz snapped:

"That day will never come!"

The hostility in Ainz's tone startled everyone, even himself. Alarmed by what he had said, Ainz slowly rose to his feet.

"...Forgive me. I'll just be have my dinner over there."

'...I can't blame the guy, out of all of us he was the most loyal to guild… we really should have been there for you Momonga…'

"...I'll join you..." Karna and Jeanne said as they including Narberal got up and sate where Ainz was.

"Really… well, if it's a religious matter, then it can't be helped."

There was a hint of regret in Peter's voice, but he did not insist on their stay.

Although Ainz noticed the depressed look on Ninya's face, Ainz did not intend to say anything more to him.

Perhaps a simple "I'm not bothered by it" would have sufficed.

The four of them had their dinner in the corner of the roped-off campsite area.

The ones who stayed behind discussed the pair which had left. It was only to be expected, given what the absent people had accomplished today.

Then, the conversation grew to a halt, and silence descended upon the group. The campfire crackled and spat glowing embers which danced into the sky. As Ninya watched the glowing traces vanish into the air, he muttered in a self-chastising tone:

"...I think I said something I shouldn't have."

"Umu. It seems like something happened in their past."

Dyne nodded deeply, and then Peter continued:

"I guess they were all wiped out. I've seen that sort of reaction from people who lost all their friends in battle."

"That... must be hard to bear. Even if we're used to walking the edge of death together, losing a friend is still…"

"That's right, Lukrut. The words spoken just now we're not the best that could have been said."

"Well, what's said cannot be unsaid. Therefore, we need to do something that makes him change his mind about those words."

Ninya looked quite depressed as he replied, and then he quietly continued, "I know what it's like to lose someone, so why didn't I put myself into his shoes?"

However, nobody responded to him.

The campfire's logs cracked loudly and spat embers amidst the silence.

In an attempt to lighten the heaviness in the air, Nfirea gingerly spoke:

"...Momon and Siegfried fighting was really spectacular and so was Artoria and Nabe."

As though waiting for these words, Peter immediately added:

"Yeah, I didn't think it would be so amazing. they cut and destroyed those ogre apart…"

"That was seriously over the top."

"Beating an Ogre in one blow is amazing in it's own right, but how good do you have to be to cleave it in half?"

The Swords of Darkness looked at each other after hearing Nfirea's puzzled question.

Nfirea was a young man who was famous for his innate talent, as well as an excellent magic caster. Although he might well shake the world with his abilities, it was difficult for him to understand the full extent of Ainz and Karna prowess without another warrior for comparison.

With that in mind, Peter began explaining to Nfirea, in a way that was as easy to understand as possible:

"Normally, greatswords are used in a hacking fashion, but he employed a slashing method. Usually, when using a greatsword one-handed, it would be very difficult to sever the limbs of enemies as large as Ogres… but it would seem there's an exception to that now."

Nfirea gasped as he heard Peter's words. Peter felt that Nfirea was not sufficiently awed, and decided to name someone he might be more familiar with:

"And for Siegfried, his weapon is very unique, since the blade is straight it allows for fast strikes, I personally had never seen a sword like that"

"Honestly speaking, I think Momon and Siegfried is on the same level as the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain."

Nfirea's eyes widened in astonishment. He finally understood what the Swords of Darkness thought of Ainz and Karna abilities.

"...That is to say, they could be an adamantite ranked adventurer… those people who are the highest ranked adventurers, living legends, in other words, the mightiest human beings?"

"Indeed," Peter replied as he nodded gently. Nfirea looked around at the other members of the Swords of Darkness, who were also nodding in approval.

He was dumbfounded.

Adamantite ranked adventurers possessed guild plates made of adamantite, a rare magical material which was the hardest metal known to man. If adventurers and their numbers formed a pyramid, then adamantite ranked adventurers would occupy the peak, and would be correspondingly scarce. Both the Kingdom and the Empire only boasted two teams of adamantite ranked adventurers each.

Their abilities were at the zenith of human potential. One might even call them heroes.

And Momon and Siegfried are people who could rival them.

"That's incredible…"

One could hear the utter amazement in those words.

"At first… The first time I saw Momon and Siegfried, dressed in a suit of stylish armor while wearing the copper plate belonging to the lowliest of adventurers, I felt pretty jealous, but now that I've seen that they have the skills to match their looks, there's nothing more I can say. He — Momon and Siegfried abilities are worthy of their plate armor. I'm kind of jealous of how strong they are..."

Peter the warrior did not wear full-plate. Instead, he sported a suit of banded armor, which was somewhat less protective. This was not by personal preference; rather, it was the best body armor he could afford with his limited resources.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure you'll be able to buy a suit of full plate soon, Peter."

"Indeed. You should work hard towards that goal. Really, you should be glad that you're fortunate enough to be able to witness an example of what it's like to be at the top."

"Ninya's right, all you need to do is work hard to reach the target of Momon and Siegfried. We'll support you too, so let's move forward together."

"That's right! Slowly but surely, your hard work will pay off! I'm sure that Momon and Siegfried must have trained even longer than you did!"

Dyne's words awoke doubts in Nfirea's heart:

"Have you seen what Momon look like under his helmet?"

Ainz had not removed his helm after meeting Nfirea, not even while eating. How he drank was also a mystery.

"Yes, we have. He looks like an average person… though not one from nearby. He and Nabe-san have black hair and black eyes, while Siegfried and Artoria has white and silver hair"

"Is that so… did they say which country they came from?"

The Swords of Darkness looked at each other, and they suddenly realized that Nfirea seemed very interested in that topic.

"Well, they didn't elaborate much on that…"

"Really now… ah, no, I was just thinking that if he came from a distant country, he'd use different potions than what was available in the surrounding region. It's just my curiosity as an herbalist talking."

"I see — well, he does seem to be from the same place as Nabe-chan, yet their looks are worlds apart — he doesn't look handsome at all. Would anyone like people like that?"

"Though Siegfried is the complete opposite, I can totally see him being Artoria type and vice versa"

"Well, Momon doesn't look like much, but with his strength, I'm sure there must be countless girls throwing themselves at him."

Powerful individuals were popular. This was because this world had monsters in it, and humans were on the bottom end of the power curve. As a result, the innate instincts of women made them desire strong males.

"Haah~ don't tell me my feelings will never bear fruit~"

"Nah, it's impossible. I don't think there was even a flower to begin with," Ninya replied with a bitter smile as he recalled Narberal's reaction.

"Utter nonsense. In any case, the important thing is to keep pushing and pushing and pushing. Eagerness is the key. 'Sides, she's a super hot girl, right? If she's just a little bit nicer to me, it'll mean I've won at life."

"...She does look very pretty…"

Halfway through his somber reply, Dyne noticed that Nfirea had a bitter look on his face.

"Nfirea-shi, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no. Er, it's nothing…"

"Oya?"

Lukrut grinned lewdly. "What, you're in love with Nabe and Artoria too?"

"Of course not!" Nfirea retorted with unnecessary loudness. From the intensity of his reaction, Peter sensed that they should not keep pressing him. Instead, he said:

"Lukrut, you're being rude. Think before you talk."

Nfirea looked uncomfortable, and he was not sure how to respond to Lukrut's sincere apology.

"No, it's not like that. Well… I'm just a little uneasy… would Momon or Siegfried really be that popular?"

"...Looks aside, their be a hit just going by their strength alone. Plus, they look pretty wealthy, given the armor and gear they wear and the swords they carried…"

"Ah…"

Nfirea's face was cast in shadow. With the tone of a senior speaking to a junior, Peter carefully asked:

"Is something the matter?"

Nfirea wanted to speak, but cut himself off halfway. The effect repeated itself over and over again, making him look like a goldfish. However, Peter and the others did not press him — there was no need to force an answer out of him if he did not want to talk about it. Soon, however, Nfirea made up his mind, and finally managed to speak.

"Um — it's because I don't want to let the person I like in Carne Village fall in love with Momon or Siegfried."

The Swords of Darkness deftly picked up on the hidden message within those words, and then smiled warmly.

"All right then, young man. Onii-san here will teach you his amazing technique—"

Peter punched Lukrut, drawing a queer howl from the latter. The Swords of Darkness paid no heed to the look of agony on Lukrut's face and made to comfort the stunned Nfirea.

Lit by the radiance of the campfire, the boy finally smiled.

At the same time—

The thrust went through the steel helmet, along with the forehead beneath it.

The body shook violently, and then collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The metal armor clanged loudly in the night. He prayed that someone would hear the sound, but nobody would come to E-Rantel's beggar's district, which had practically been abandoned by the residents. That was why the client had arranged to meet them here, after all.

The man glared at the young woman before him. However, it was clear that he was just putting on a brave front. He had lost the will to fight after seeing the woman casually kill three of his fellows.

The young woman who had murdered his colleagues flicked her bloodstained stilettos. The ichor scattered in all directions, and the blades recovered their cold shine.

"Nfufufufu~ and then there was one, Onii-san~"

The woman revealed her canines with a predatory grin.

"Why, why are you doing this?"

He knew it was a stupid question, but the man had no idea why this was happening to him.

These men were dropouts among adventurers. The term for them was "Workers," or dusk workers. They took on jobs which were borderline, or sometimes outright illegal.

This might have been the result of some sort of grudge, but he had never worked in this city before. Neither had he seen this girl before.

"Ah, why I did this? Well now~ I just wanted you, Onii-san~"

The man could not understand what the girl was talking about. He blinked several times, and then asked:

"What, what do you mean?"

"That famous herbalist's grandson isn't at home~ I wanted someone to keep an eye on them for me and see when they got back. I can't be bothered with such troublesome things~"

"Then all you needed to do was ask! Weren't you planning to do that in the first place!?"

Workers like themselves would gladly take illegal jobs, so he had no idea why this girl was slaughtering them.

"Nonono, you might have betrayed me~"

"We will never betray our employer once we've been paid the appointed fee!"

"Hmmm~? Then how about this? I like killing people, I love it, I'm absolutely crazy about it. Ah, and I like torture too," the young woman added with a giggle.

After hearing this nonsensical reply, the man's face hardened and he said, "You're insane! Why!?"

"Why…?"

The young woman's voice changed. The joking, teasing tone from just now was gone.

"Hmmm… I wonder why? Perhaps it was because my job involved killing lots of people? Maybe it was because I was constantly compared to my amazing big brother? How they loved him instead of me? Or how I was raped constantly before I became strong? Because my friends died in front of me? Or maybe it's because I messed up and got captured and tortured for several days? Heated choke pears hurt, you know~"

It seemed as though there was only a little girl before him. But in the blink of an eye, a smile bloomed on the woman's face.

"Just kidding~ I was making it all up, it's a lie, a lie — never happened to me. Still, even if you knew, would it change anything? I'm this way because things piled up — ah, speaking of which, I need to thank Khazi-chan for helping me suss out all this info, I'm so glad I could meet you all right away~ you should know how long it takes to find help~"

The girl released her stilettos, which were pulled down by gravity and sank into the ground. Judging by their abnormal sharpness, they must have been made of something other than simple steel.

"This is orichalcum~ More precisely, its orichalcum alloyed over mithril. Pretty good stuff."

The fact that she bore such exotic weaponry was a sign of the woman's prowess. In other words, he had no chance of victory.

"Then~ time for the next step. I can't use you if you're heavily wounded, Onii-san… buuuut Khazi-chan can heal you with divine magic no matter how much I hurt you~ which means I get to enjoy torturing you as muuuuch as I like, no?"

As she uttered those bone-chilling words, she drew another pair of stilettos from under her robe.

"These should be good… sorry if I miss~"

It was adorable, the way she stuck her tongue out at him. However, her filthy, blackened heart was visible for all to see.

The man turned his back to her and ran. Although he heard an exaggerated gasp of surprise from the young woman, he still ran with every ounce of strength in him. He was proud of his sense of direction, and he used it to the full as he ran through the lightless dark.

However, there was a clattering noise from behind him, followed by the woman's calm voice.

"—Too slow~"

Searing pain filled his shoulder. His first thought was that he had been stabbed by a stiletto, and then a shadow fell over his thoughts.

It was mind control.

The man desperately tried to resist, but that only mired his consciousness further in darkness.

The voice of "a friend" came from behind him.

"Ah~ Are you alright? Is the wound deep? "

"Mm, no, it's fine," the man smiled as he turned to face his friend."

"Is that so? That's wonderful~"

A dreadful smile bloomed on the young woman's face.

The group set out at daybreak, along a hidden path on the plains.

"We'll be at Carne Village soon."

The other travellers nodded in response to Nfirea, the only person who had been to Carne Village before (barring Ainz, Karna and Jeanne). Apart from that, they walked on in silence. Nfirea seemed somewhat put off by that.

An air of awkwardness hung between them. Ainz, who was the cause of this situation, hid his guilt underneath his helmet.

Ninya kept peeking at him, and it was annoying. However, this was all his fault, so he could not say anything about it.

This was the result of what he had said last night.

Ninya apologized at breakfast, and Ainz should have accepted the apology on the spot, but for some reason, he could not say a simple thing like "I forgive you."

Though he felt he was being petty, Ainz could not simply let bygones be bygones.

Because of this undead body, my mind has changed as well, huh...

After becoming undead, his strong emotions were suppressed, but the less intense ones did not vanish. The best proof for this was how long his mild anger lasted. Ainz's friends had a very important place in his heart. Though he cared deeply for them, he began to feel that it might not be good to let things go on like this.

However, he could not bring himself to take the first step in changing the mood.

It was because he could calmly deduce that the slight changes in his feelings — like those of a petulant child — that he felt anger at his own immaturity.

The only one who stood out among the awkwardness was Narberal. She was so happy to not be bothered by Lukrut that she was practically humming in delight.

The group advanced in silence, and they soon made it to the outskirts of Carne Village.

"Ah, yes! It seems pretty wide here, so maybe we don't have to stay in a line as we move," Lukrut announced, seemingly with some other motive in mind.

A glance to the sides revealed stretches of emerald forest around them, so the deliberate mention of being wide and open seemed somewhat suspicious. In addition, the point of being guards was that they could not lower their guard in an open area, so moving in a column like they were doing now was the wisest choice.

It was just that they all knew their silent advance in a line was not due to their adventurer's sense of caution.

"...It's important to stay alert. So let's… mm. Let's get to the village first."

"Indeed! We need to stay on guard at all times lest we get attacked!"

Lukrut put on an as if expression in response to Peter and Dyne's statements.

"Maybe a dragon might attack us from far away," Ninya mumbled.

Lukrut immediately shot back:

"What kind of shitty plot development would that be? Logically speaking, how could such a thing happen, Ninya!?"

"You're right, it's impossible. The stories of dragons near E-Rantel are nothing more than that, stories. Although they say that in the ancient past, there was a dragon which could shake the heavens and the earth… nobody's seen any dragons recently. Or no, I think there's a colony of Frost Dragons living along the Azellisia mountain range, towards the north…"

They existed in the past? According to the Sunlight Scripture, dragons are the mightiest beings in this world…

In YGGDRASIL, dragons were the strongest enemies one could encounter. They boasted great physical attack and defense power, boundless stamina and wielded numerous skills and spells.

They were in a class of their own.

There were countless monsters in YGGDRASIL. Among their number were all sorts of named monsters, and area monsters, as well as those super monsters called World Class Enemies. Even a legion, composed of six parties of six men each, would not have much of a chance against these unimaginably powerful creatures.

Apart from the "Devourer of the Nine Worlds," there were the "Eight Dragons Emperor," the "Demon Lords of the Seven Sins," the "Ten Archangels of the Sephira," as well as the six bosses known as the "Celestial Lord of the Sixth Heaven," and the "Five-Colored Buddhas," from the expansion pack "Valkyrie's Downfall." There were thirty two of these extraordinary monsters in total, and one could infer the dev team's love of dragons from the number of draconic entities among them.

We need to be careful if dragons exist. Dragons could live forever in YGGDRASIL's backstory, so it wouldn't be a surprise to encounter dragons with mind-boggling powers.

As Karna thought this he looked over to see Ainz, who is keeping his eyes straight ahead, he sighed.

**[MESSAGE] **'hey i think we and we, i man you, should talk to Suzuki'

'Agree' Jeanne reply 'but why me?'

'You can be more...gentle with your words than me'

'...fine'

…**[MESSAGE] **Suzuki-kun, hey Suzuki-kun, you really need to talk to Ninya, you know it not her fault right?'

'Of course I know that… but I can't just talk to him again like nothing happen'

'Ok here's what you do Suzuki-kun, you just need to talk but not address anyone in particular, because Ninya feels he had done you wrong he will be the one to talk first'

'...ok make sense… I'll give it a shot'

"Ah — could someone tell me the name of that dragon which could shatter the sky and shake the earth?"

Ainz was not nearly thick skinned enough to nonchalantly ask a question of someone feuding with him, so he had to make it convincing and merely spoke in a low voice. However, that was loud enough for everyone to hear, and Ninya jerked his head back to look.

This was like a pair of quarrelling lovers looking for a chance to make up.

Ainz recalled a time when he had heard a pair of sweethearts talking in a coffee shop, and could not help but compare their words to his present situation.

That said, Ninya's expression seemed a little brighter since it was Ainz who made the first move. The Swords of Darkness and Nfirea were all smiles as well. Only Narberal remained unmoved. Come to think of it, the awkwardness in the air since this morning had hardly affected her.

"I'm very sorry, but I don't know too much about it! I'll look it up for you when we get back to the city!"

Ah, no need to get so excited about it… it's fine if you don't know… I was just looking for something to say…

However, he could not bring himself to utter those words.

"Mm, Ninya-san. Could you help me find out, if time permits?"

"Understood, Momon-san!"

'...really… just like that…' Karna though slightly dumbfounded. Back in their world relationship was not about true love but more about finding someone that can take care of you. It's rare to see actual love like the one he had for Jeanne and the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown.

'New world, new rules I guess…'

The way everyone nodded with exaggerated satisfaction made Ainz feel a little ashamed of himself. It might have been different if the situation was the other way around, but he was filled with regret as the oldest one here.

"All right, we're almost at Carne Village now…"

This was the first cheerful thing which anyone had said since this morning, but Nfirea clammed up almost immediately.

Everyone looked at the village before their eyes. It was a rustic hamlet at the edge of the forest. There was nothing strange or unusual about it, so Nfirea's silence was a mystery.

"What's wrong, Nfirea-san? Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, it's fine. Just… I don't recall seeing a sturdy fence like the one in front of us..."

"Really? But it looks like an ordinary fence. Actually, it's kind of shabby for a frontier village fence, right? It wouldn't be a surprise that a village at the edge of the forest would have a sturdy fence to protect against monsters, right?"

"Hm — you might be right… but Carne has the Wise King of the Forest, so they've never put up a fence before…"

Everyone looked to the village. The village was surrounded by a fence as far as they could see, and the fence was made of logs which were resilient to cutting.

"How strange… did something happen...?"

Ainz remained silent, even after hearing the lad's uneasy question. In the past, he had come here as the magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown, but now he was the adventurer Momon.

Ninya cut in, a serious expression on his face:

"Maybe I'm worrying too much… but I grew up in a village, and I still remember life there, so there's two things I find suspicious. The first is that the fields haven't been tilled yet even at this time, and the other is that they've already harvested some of the wheat."

They looked in the direction Ninya was pointing and indeed, part of the wheat had already been taken in.

"I see. Looks like… perhaps something happened?"

Karna turned to the group, all of whom had uneasy faces, and said:

"...Gentlemen, let us handle this. Nabe, go invisible and scout the village with flying magic."

After acknowledging Karna instructions, Narberal turned herself invisible with magic and vanished. Shortly after, they heard the sound of flight magic being incanted, and Narberal no longer left any tracks behind her. The travellers waited on the road, and after a while, Narberal reappeared where she had left.

"...The villagers seem to be moving normally around the village, and I did not sense that they were being controlled or ordered. The villagers are working on the fields on the other side of the village."

"...Huh, looks like I was just being paranoid."

"It should be fine. Then, let's move on… shall we?"

Peter looked expectantly to Ainz, Karna, Jeanne and Nfirea, and they both replied in the affirmative.

The road narrowed as they went on, so they had to form up into a column as they approached the village's entrance.

The wheat fields on either side of the road were a brilliant emerald, waving gently in the wind. The travellers looked as though they were submerged in a pool of green water.

"Hm?"

The wagon advanced with a clattering noise. Behind it, Lukrut made a noise of suspicion and studied the wheat fields closely. It was not yet time for the harvest, but the stalks were over seventy centimeters high, and they were as impenetrable as the ocean's depths.

"What's wrong?" Nfirea asked from his place at the back.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, maybe I was thinking too much…"

Lukrut tilted his head in confusion, then quickened his pace, drawing closer to Peter.

Ninya looked in the same direction, and then opened up his steps once he made sure there were no other movements.

The wheat fields spilled over onto the road that led to the village, like the sea swallowing up the land. They wanted to cut down the stalks to ensure stable footing, but if they did that, problems would result in the future.

"I hope the villagers can tend their fields properly. This seems terribly wasteful."

Peter walked at the head of the group and because his armor touched the wheat stalks, it was soon covered in wheat grains. Peter muttered as he saw this, feeling that something was wrong.

This was a warning born from his instincts, which had been honed through countless brushes with death. Would the green grains fall off so easily?

Driven by instinct, he looked back into the wheat fields, and saw a pair of eyes staring at them. It was a small creature, its body even smaller as it hunkered down in the wheat. Although its face was obscured by the wheat stalks, it was clearly not human in nature.

"What!?"

The shocked Peter wanted to shout a warning to his colleagues, but the creature — a demihuman — spoke first, "Could you put down your weapons, please?"

The diminutive demihuman already had its blade drawn, and no matter how fast Peter moved, his opponent could still stab him first.

"Yo, please put down your weapons. Could you tell the people behind you to do so too? We don't want to have to shoot them with arrows."

There were faint sounds from another direction. When he looked to the source of those sounds, he found that there was a marvellously camouflaged hole in the wheatfields, with half a demihuman sticking out of it. The demihuman was covered in wheat stalks as further camouflage.

Peter was filled with doubt. It would seem there was room to negotiate with these creatures.

"...Could you spare our lives?"

"Sure we could. If you surrender, that is."

Peter was at a loss for what to do next.

He had to stay in front and make sure the arrows did not hit Nfirea on the wagon. He also needed to figure out the enemy's number and organization.

Verifying the opposition's objectives was also important. At the moment, he could not surrender, but neither could he entirely deny the enemy's proposition.

As though sensing Peter's confusion, the two demihumans rose from the plains with a rustle.

"—Goblins," Ninya breathed.

The demihumans who stood before them now were of the same species as the Goblins from yesterday. They had their bows raised, and their eyes were keen as they took aim.

Should they fight?

Ninya, Lukrut, and Dyne looked at each other, pondering that question.

Goblins were inferior to human beings in height, weight, muscle power, and other physical parameters. They were hard to deal with in the dark because they possessed darkvision, but under the light of day, they were hardly fearsome opponents for the veteran Swords of Darkness.

In addition, they had Momon, Siegfried And Artoria who could take care of them easily like they had yesterday.

Peter was confident that they could make it through even a pincer attack, as long as their opponents were Goblins.

However, there was a reason why Peter could not immediately make that decision.

His adventurer's instincts told him that these Goblins were different from the ones he had fought yesterday.

Simply put, the Goblins in front of him seemed trained and experienced. In addition, they were in good physical shape. In contrast to the scrawny, weak Goblins from yesterday, these Goblins had bodies of rippling muscle.

In addition, the Goblin archers had an excellent shooting stance. If the Goblins yesterday were children playing with sticks, these Goblins were warriors adept at using their bows.

Finally, their weapons were well-made and well-maintained, easily rivalling the weapons of the Swords of Darkness.

Just as humans could become strong through training, monsters could as well. Demihumans like Goblins could certainly do so too.

Therefore, it was quite possible that the Goblins before the Swords of Darkness were stronger than any demihuman foe they had ever fought.

Just then, a voice cut through the wind blowing over the wheatfields, and Lukrut hurriedly looked behind.

"...Hehe, you caught me, huh?"

A Goblin popped his head out from the fields and stuck his tongue out at them. He must have been trying to sneak up on them behind, but his stealth skills were not good enough to evade the senses of Lukrut the ranger. However, their situation was hardly improved even after discovering the Goblin infiltrator.

A calm look at their surroundings revealed movements throughout the wheat fields, as though something was hiding inside them. These movements were centered on the wagon, and slowly drew closer.

They were in a very bad situation.

The Swords of Darkness could not think of any way to overcome their current situation.

Ainz raised his hand to stop Narberal from killing them all. After examining the Goblins, he was certain that his guess was correct.

"They should be the Goblins summoned from the Horn of the Goblin General."

If the girl who had received that horn was controlling these Goblins, then he had to avoid antagonizing them, as much as possible. If that was not the case they would have to think of something else. However, they were not enemies of Ainz, Karna and Jeanne so it should be fine.

The Goblin from before looked over to Ainz and his friends who stood tall and steady, and said:

"We hope you don't make any sudden moves, chap in the full plate and cloak. We don't want to start a fight."

The voice was stiff and full of caution as Jeanne stopped Narberal from lashing out.

"Relax. If you don't attack, neither will we."

"Thanks for that. These nii-sans are strong, but they aren't scary. You, however, are a different matter, and so is that nee-san beside you. When I think about the two of you as enemies, my hairs stand on end."

Ainz did not reply, but shrugged.

"Then, please wait here for a bit before Ane-san arrives."

"Who's that Ane-san you're talking about!? Did she take over Carne Village!?"

Nfirea's agitation was reflected in the obvious surprise on the Goblins' faces.

"Nfirea, calm down a little. It should be pretty obvious who has the advantage here. In addition, there's a few more oddities about the village based on Nabe-san's words. I'm hoping we can avoid pointless fighting before the truth comes out."

Nfirea was hard-pressed to hide his anxiety despite Ninya's words.

The look of immediate confrontation on his face became one of barely-restrained frustration. He clenched his fists tightly, and then slowly released them.

Ainz was surprised and confused by Nfirea's intense reaction as well.

Granted, they had not travelled together for long, and he did not know the lad all that well. However, he did not think that Nfirea would be so excited about something like this. It was possible that this village was not just a simple place to gather herbs, but it had some other significance to him.

Karna turned a doubting eye on Nfirea. On the other side, the Goblins seemed to have sensed Nfirea's anger, and they looked at each other in confusion.

"Hm — this seems different from before…"

"Ane-san's village was recently attacked by people dressed up as Imperial knights, we're just staying on guard."

"The village was attacked…! Is she all right!?"

As though in response to Nfirea's shouts, a girl appeared at the entrance to the village, escorted by more goblins. As he saw the girl, Nfirea's eyes went wide, and he shouted her name with all his strength:

"Enri!"

The girl heard the shout, and responded in turn. Her voice was gentle and filled with kindness, as though addressing a close friend.

"Nfirea!"

At this moment, Ainz recalled what he had heard earlier.

'Ah… it would seem that her herbalist friend was not a woman, but a man.' The three supreme beings thought.

'Young love' Jeanne thought with a smile, as she glanced at Karna.

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

Demiurge walked through the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The hard soles of his leather shoes clacked loudly against the ground, and the echoes faded away into silence. Many vassals had been set out to maintain security, but they did not impair the mythic atmosphere in this place.

Suddenly, Demiurge looked around, and smiled.

"...Truly magnificent."

The object of his admiration was the entirety of the Ninth Floor. It was a place which complemented the Forty One Supreme Beings, the entities for whom Demiurge would abandon everything and pledge his utmost loyalty. Therefore, Demiurge loved and cherished everything here.

Joy filled Demiurge's heart every time he walked through this place, further reinforcing his devotion to his creators. It was not just Demiurge who felt this way; even the clowns, musicians, and other noisy fellows were awed into silence by this floor, and strove to preserve its quiescence.

Anyone who was not delighted by the sights here, who was not sufficiently loyal to the Forty One Supreme Beings, must surely have "disloyal tendencies."

As these thoughts passed through Demiurge's mind, he turned a corner. His destination was before his eyes, the room of his unquestionable superior, the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick, The three remaining supreme beings who remained with them, Ainz Ooal Gown, Karna And Jeanne D'arc.

As he approached the room's door, he saw several people open it and leave.

These people noticed Demiurge, and waited courteously for him to approach.

One of them was dressed like a butler, but he was dressed entirely in black aside from his white gloves. It looked less like a set of butler's clothes than a combat uniform.

He was one of the ten manservants of Nazarick, but not even Demiurge could tell which of the ten he was. This was because they all wore full-face battle masks, like faceless mooks, and only communicated in strange noises.

In addition, there was the being standing before the butler.

The ridiculous mental image of a naked man in a tie appeared in Demiurge's mind.

It was a penguin.

It was the very picture of a penguin, and it wore a black tie.

"It has been a while, Assistant Head Butler-kun."

Upon hearing Demiurge's warm and genial greeting, the penguin responded with a beaming smile (probably):

"Indeed, it has been a while, Lord Demiurge."

He then bowed deeply.

This was not a simple penguin, but the assistant head butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He was a heteromorphic being known as a birdman, and its name was Eclair Aicler Egglayer.

As a birdman, like Peroroncino of the Forty One Supreme Beings, he should have had a bestial head and wings, and his limbs should have had avian characteristics. Yet for some reason, he looked like a penguin. Still, Demiurge had no doubts about his appearance.

The reason for that was because he was a creation and relic of the Supreme Beings.

"Is Albedo inside?"

"Yes, Lady Albedo is within."

Albedo was in charge of Nazarick while Ainz was out. It was also common knowledge that she did not conduct her business in her own room, but in this room.

All her actions were taken with Ainz's approval, so the only one to voice any objections to this arrangement was Shalltear Bloodfallen, who was herself abroad on business.

Demiurge had once whispered to Albedo, "Shouldn't a good wife wait for her husband at home and mind the house in his absence?" Therefore, he was completely unable to refute her when she replied, "What's wrong with a wife standing watch over her husband's room?"

He nodded to Eclair, and then asked:

"It's rare for you to come here, Eclair-kun. Are you not assigned to the guest rooms?"

"I must work hard in Sebas-sama's place when he is not around. In fact, I was discussing the finer points of my duties with Albedo-sama."

"Indeed. Since he is not around, the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick is now your responsibility."

"Exactly. I must work hard now, so I may one day rule the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

The smile on Demiurge's face did not change, despite Eclair's strange statement.

It was widely-known that Eclair hungered after the throne of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He was a creation of the Supreme Beings, so he was beyond question.

Of course, if the order was given, Demiurge would eliminate him without mercy, but until then, he had no objections.

"Indeed. Work hard, then. Speaking of which, what do you intend to take care of first?"

"Cleaning, of course. What other work is there to do? Nobody cleans better than me! One could eat off the toilets I clean."

Demiurge nodded in satisfaction as he heard Eclair's confident reply.

"Excellent. Your work is very important. A stain on this floor is an insult to the Supreme Beings."

The nodding Demiurge then asked another question:

"I know your job is very important, but who will be in charge of this floor while Sebas is out?"

"That would be the head maid Pestonya. Managing this floor is nothing compared to cleaning it."

"I see… so the vassals made by the Supreme Beings have already been assigned their duties… come to think of it, is it not difficult to carry out your duties with these penguin hands of yours?"

"My talent lies in overcoming the clumsiness of these hands and cleaning house," Eclair confidently replied, his chest puffed out. Then, in a somewhat unhappy tone, he continued:

"Come to think of it, this is not something that a being like you — whose wisdom is second only to my own — would say, Demiurge-sama."

Eclair took a comb from the butler behind him, and began preening the golden feathers on the sides of his head.

"I am no mere penguin, but a rockhopper penguin made by Ankoro Mochimochi-sama of the Supreme Beings. Please do not confuse me with such animals. Also, these are not my hands — but wings."

"It seems I have been rude."

After seeing Demiurge lowered his head in apology, Eclair signalled that he had not taken it to heart. Then, he ordered the butler behind him:

"Carry me."

"Ngiiiiiih—!"

The manservant tucked Eclair under his arm.

Eclair's usual walking gait was a series of short hops, which was quite slow, in some ways.

Therefore, he was typically carried around by a manservant in this manner.

"Then, I shall take my leave, lord Demiurge."

"Mm, farewell. Eclair-kun."

After looking briefly at the Assistant Head Butler being held under a manservant's arm like a doll, Demiurge knocked gently on the room's door:

"This is Demiurge. Pardon the intrusion."

He was exceedingly polite, despite the absence of the room's owner. This was because to Demiurge, the room itself was a place to be respected.

Demiurge entered the room, which should have been empty.

He looked around, and did not see Albedo anywhere. Demiurge sighed softly, then opened another set of doors and proceeded deeper within.

The rooms of the Forty One Supreme Beings were modelled after royal suites, and featured a vast bathroom, a bar counter, a living room with a grand piano, a main bedroom, guest rooms, a dedicated kitchen, a dressing room, and so on.

Demiurge advanced to the bedroom without a second's hesitation.

He knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer.

There was only a single bed within, but the king-sized bed was adorned with a stylish canopy. There was a large lump, slightly larger than the size of a human, and it was squirming.

"Albedo."

Unable to bear Demiurge calling out to her, a world class beauty revealed her face from under the sheets. Her skin was an uninterrupted stretch of silky smoothness down to her shoulders, so she was probably naked under those sheets. Perhaps it was because she had burrowed into those sheets, but there was a faint blush of arousal on her cheeks.

"...What fell sorcery are you working there?"

"I want Lord Ainz to be enveloped in my fragrance when he returns."

It would seem her wiggling and squirming was to mark her territory.

Demiurge was dumbstruck. All he could do was silently watch the highest ranked NPC created by the Forty One Supreme Beings, the Guardian Overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Then, he tiredly shook his head.

He did not say, "Lord Ainz is undead, he probably will not sleep on a bed," or, "Even if he did sleep on a bed, the sheets would probably be changed right away," or something like that. If she was satisfied with that, then so be it.

"You should probably not take it too far."

"...I don't know what you mean by too far, but I understand. Right, Lord Ainz?"

The person lying in bed beside Albedo suddenly revealed his face.

Demiurge was so shocked that he had no words to say.

For a moment, he thought it was Ainz Ooal Gown himself, but it was not nearly thick or imposing enough.

"That must be… a hug pillow… who made it?"

"I did."

Demiurge's nearly-closed eyes widened slightly as he heard Albedo's prompt reply. He had not expected her to be possessed of such skills.

"Be it cleaning, washing clothes, or sewing, I possess all these skills at a professional level."

Elated by Demiurge's surprise, Albedo continued showing off in a self-satisfied tone:

"I've already made socks and clothes for our future baby, up through the age of five."

Albedo's full-faced smile and her fufufufu laugh left Demiurge feeling a little powerless. He considered simply leaving her here and departing forthwith.

"It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl… ah! What if the child is a hermaphrodite, or sexless?"

Demiurge could not say anything. All he could do was watch Albedo, who was muttering to herself.

It was true that Albedo excelled in the management of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and in that respect she was far superior to Demiurge. However, she was not as talented in terms of defense and military administration, so she needed Demiurge's help in that field.

All would be well as long as there were no known enemies, like now.

With that in mind, Demiurge tamped down his uneasiness. His master had ordered him to leave the Tomb, and Demiurge could not resist that command.

"Then, in accordance with Lord Ainz orders, I will be setting out now. That being the case, the only Guardians remaining in Nazarick will be yourself and Cocytus. There is nothing which needs to be said, but I do hope you will take care of yourself."

"So, after Aura, Mare, Sebas, and Shalltear, it's your turn? Mm, leave it to me. I'll have my sisters help me in an emergency. I will also mobilize the Pleiades. They should be enough to hold on until everyone returns."

"...I believe that your little sister cannot be deployed without Lord Ainz permission, even in an emergency. The same applies to the Pleiades. I believe two of them are already out on missions, so you will not be able to assemble all of them. Perhaps you should move Victim to a higher floor, depending on the circumstances?"

"Still, going that far… preparations have been made in case of such a situation. If something goes awry, please return as soon as possible. Speaking of which, how will you deal with the surviving members of the Sunlight Scripture? Lord Ainz has granted you the right to dispose of them, am I wrong? You could hand that to me as well, but I have no idea what you plan to accomplish with them…"

"Ah, them, you mean? By order of Lord Ainz, they are helping us with experiments."

Demiurge seemed very happy, but Albedo wrinkled her elegantly-shaped eyebrows.

"First are the healing magic tests. When we cut off an arm and heal the wound with magic, the severed hand disappears. Now, if we had them eat the severed arm and then healed the wound, would the nutrients derived from the arm vanish? If we repeated this over and over again, would the people who ate the arms starve to death?"

"Ah — indeed."

"In addition, we allow them to vote on who should become the others' food, and who should be the one to cut off the food's limbs with a blunt axe. We do so by a registered voter."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"But of course. There will be a hierarchy among the prisoners, from those who will become food and have their limbs chopped off, to those who will chop the limbs off, and those who will eat those limbs. This creates hatred, and once they are gripped by that hatred, all we need to do is gently urge on the ones who were used as food. This encourages them to revolt, and the effects are very obvious. Beings that hate everything are truly fearsome."

"...That is quite disturbing. We of Nazarick are beings created by the Supreme Beings, and there is no way we could betray Lord Ainz. But to think these humans would betray their own masters… well, they have hardly any loyalty to speak of."

"That is what makes it interesting. You could enjoy the humans in that way too, could you not, Albedo? All you need to do is treat them as toys."

"I cannot understand your way of thinking."

"What a shame. All right, staying here and chatting will delay the execution of Lord Ainz orders. If anything happens, let me know and I will return right away."

"Mm. I don't think it'll come to that, but I will inform you depending on the circumstances."

Albedo's alabaster-white hand emerged from under the sheets to wave Demiurge goodbye.

"Then, I will be off. Right… since you wanted to make boy's clothes, you might want to know this. Did you know that the Supreme Beings seem to prefer boys in girl's clothing?"

"...Hm?"

—-—-—-—-

Clementine stormed back to Khazit's hideout — the secret shrine under E-Rantel's graveyard. Her strides were wild and forceful, her brows were furrowed, and her mouth was twisted. Her pretty features were distorted into something which could only have been described with the word "ugly."

That said, her true nature was probably more grotesque than that face.

Khazit muttered to himself as he guided a newly-created Zombie over to the undead storage area.

"Oh~ A new Zombie? That's over a hundred and fifty now, the Orb of Death is quite extraordinary~"

The number of undead that could be controlled by the third-tier spell 「Create Undead」 was limited by the power of the spell's caster. The more undead one made, the fewer one could control. Still, Zombies were among the lowest grade of undead. Someone like Khazit, who specialized in controlling the undead, could maintain his hold over the unbelievable amount of over a hundred of them at once. The reason Khazit could control more than even that number was due to the power of the item he carried — the Orb of Death.

"It's all because you've been fooling around so much."

"Sor-ry~"

There was not even the slightest hint of remorse on Clementine's face as she apologized.

"Still~ it's their fault for dying so soon~ couldn't they hold on a little longer—?"

"…When you bash them like that, it's no wonder they'd die…"

"Adventurers wouldn't die so easily~"

"They weren't adventurers, just ordinary civilians… Clementine, do you like spouting obvious things to waste time?"

"Yesyesyes~ I'm sorry, it won't happen again, please forgive me~"

Khazit clicked his tongue.

"As if I could believe that. In any case, stop going after people."

"Oh-kay~"

Her flighty response made Khazit furrowed his brows. Still, there was no point going on about it, so he decided not to continue lecturing her. He tried to express his displeasure with the wrinkles of his frown, but as expected, she ignored it.

"Buuut~ I'm so booooooored — speaking of which, where is he, anyway?"

"Has he not returned yet?"

"Not yet. I missed him — since it's hard to get a hold of him, what about grabbing that granny instead~?"

"Stop that. That old woman is a third tier magic caster and a famous person in this city, so don't look down on her. If you move carelessly against her, you might find yourself in too deep to dig yourself out."

"Ehhhhh~ But—"

Khazit reached into his robes, and withdrew a jet-black gemstone.

"…Clementine, I've spent several years preparing to turn this place into a city of the dead. I don't want your pointless antics to set my plans back. If you continue making trouble… I'll kill you."

"…It's called the Death Spiral, right?"

"Indeed. It's the rite our leader is conducting."

In places where the undead gathered, more powerful undead were born. When these more powerful undead gathered, even more powerful undead would appear. The magic rite which made use of this property was like a spiral, constantly spawning ever more powerful undead beings. It was potent enough to destroy an entire city, so it was known as the "Death Spiral."

This wicked ritual had been conducted in the past, and it had turned a metropolis into a city of the dead where the undead roamed free.

Khazit's aim was to turn E-Rantel into another such dead city. He would turn himself into an undead being by harnessing the necromantic energies from such a place.

He had made extensive preparations to achieve his aim. He would not let this woman who had showed up just a few days ago ruin his plans.

"Got it?"

Khazit saw through Clementine's adorably puffed-up cheeks. Her expression was one of cruel malice. In that moment, Clementine surged forward like a killing storm.

She closed the distance between them in an instant, and struck like lightning. The sharp blade in her hand gleamed lethally as it flashed toward Khazit's throat —

The small blade Clementine thrust forth was a piercing weapon known as a stiletto.

There was little variation in the ways one could attack with a piercing weapon, so they were not easy to use. However, Clementine favored such weapons, and she had trained her body ceaselessly, selected the best equipment, and learned the right martial arts, all in order to kill in a single blow.

This technique of hers, honed and refined through countless battles with humans and monsters, was on a level where no normal person could defend against it.

Clementine was naturally gifted with physical abilities which exceeded those of normal human beings. On top of that, she had spent her life training and practicing her combat skills, so it was only natural that she should be able to fight at such a level.

However, her target was not a normal person.

Khazit — one of the twelve high disciples who were the pride of Zuranon — could not be killed so easily.

—And a white wall-like object which erupted from the ground and intercepted the unavoidable, razor-sharp blade. It was a gigantic hand made of countless human bones, covered in hooks which called to mind the image of maggots.

The hooks writhed, and the earth around them shattered. Under Khazit's mental control, a giant creature began revealing itself.

She could sense a powerful undead creature beneath Khazit's feet. The smug Khazit turned toward Clementine and said:

"What a waste of time. Because of you, I was distracted for a moment and lost control of the other undead."

"Tehe~ Sorry 'bout that~ But I wasn't going all out either. You had to pull out all the stops to barely block it, right?"

"That's nonsense and you know it, Clementine. You're not the sort to hold back."

"Uwah~ you saw through me~ Mm, if you hadn't blocked it, your shoulder would have been stabbed through. Butbut, I never intended to kill you — really~"

Khazit frowned again as he saw the hateful smile on the woman before him.

"Still, if it was me, I could beat that chap — maybe magic casters couldn't win, but as a warrior, I could defeat it handily. I'm just not too used to bludgeoning-type weapons—"

"…Your specialization in one-hit kills might make you strong against the living, but what will you do against the undead which lack biological processes? And do you really think 'that chap' is the last card I have to play?"

"Mmm~ that's also true~"

Clementine glanced toward the entrance. She seemed to have noticed the undead controlled by Khazit, who were waiting there for his orders.

"I think I could win… but if I draw out the fight I'll probably lose~ tehe~, sorry, Khazi-chan."

Clementine returned her stilettos under her cloak, and the rumbling from the earth ceased.

"Buuuut~ that's a specialized undead controller for you~ Well done!"

With that, Clementine turned and left.

"Ah, yes, yes, I won't touch that granny until the end. I won't go hunting people either. That should be okay, right?"

"…Mm."

Khazit did not release the power he was holding until Clementine left. He continued holding on to it even after her shadow was gone from his underground shrine.

"What a bad personality," Khazit spat.

He had his own flaws, but he was not nearly as bad as Clementine.

"Even though she's so skilled… no, it's because she's so skilled that she's so twisted."

Clementine was strong, and even among the twelve executives of the secret society Zuranon, only three of them could beat her. Sadly, Khazit was not one of them. Even with the magic item in his hand, he only had around a thirty percent chance of success.

"The former Ninth Seat of the Black Scripture… deranged individuals with the power of heroes are hard to deal with."

"So that's what happened."

Nfirea sighed deeply, and mumbled to himself.

Nfirea had been close to Enri's parents. They were great parents, and the way they loved their daughters was quite enviable. Nfirea had lost his parents at a young age and only had murky impressions of them. Therefore, when he thought of an outstanding father and mother, Nfirea immediately thought of Enri's parents.

He was filled with rage when he heard that her parents had been killed by the Imperial Knight impostors, and all he could think when he learned that they had been slaughtered in turn serves them right. He was also somewhat angry at the higher-ups in E-Rantel, who refused to send soldiers over.

However, he felt something was wrong about him displaying this anger, when Enri — for whom that anger was far more justified — had set those feelings aside.

He looked at Enri, her eyes brimming with tears. As he wondered whether he should try to comfort her, Enri wiped her tears away and smiled:

"I still have a little sister. I can't lose myself in sadness forever."

Nfirea was halfway off his chair, and now he sat down again. Having lost the chance to console her, he felt like he had wasted an opportunity and was ashamed of his own uselessness.

Even so — his desire to protect her had not changed. After a brief pause, Nfirea made up his mind. He would not let anyone other than himself sit beside Enri, even if that person was a powerful being who could protect her.

He felt a little anxious, but while he was riding on this surge of emotion, Nfirea decided that he would share the feelings he had had ever since he came to this village for the first time as a child.

"Then—"

His throat seemed to have clamped shut. Come on, say it! Although he desperately wanted to speak, the words stuck in his throat and refused to leave.

Both Enri and Nfirea were at an age where it would not be unusual for them to be married. In addition, due to his income as a herbalist, Nfirea had enough money to support Enri and her little sister.

I could probably provide for a child too…

The image of the family he wanted to make appeared in his mind — but he immediately waved away his runaway imagination. The knowledge that Enri was looking at him in surprise made him even more nervous.

His mouth opened, and then closed.

I like you.

I love you.

But the words refused to leave his lips, because he was afraid of hearing her reject him.

Then, what else could he say to shorten the distance between them?

The city's safer, do you want to live with me? I'll take care of you and your little sister. If you want to work, you can help in Granny's shop.

If you feel uneasy about the city, I'll do my best to help you.

He should say that. The chances of those words being rejected would be a lot lower than a confession of love.

"Enri!"

"Wh-What happened, Nfirea?"

Enri jumped as Nfirea loudly called her name. He began to speak:

"—If, if, if you've got any problems, let me know. I'll do whatever I can to help you!"

"Thank you… You're such a good friend that it's almost wasted on me, Nfirea!"

"Ah, ah, er… it, yeah friend, it's fine, we've known each other for so long, after all."

Nfirea was unable to say anything else in the face of Enri's beaming smile. He cursed himself for his uselessness, but at the same time he fondly reflected on how cute Enri was, and of the times he had spent talking with her.

Just as it seemed the matter was at an end, Nfirea asked a question:

"Come to think of it, what's up with those Goblins?"

Those Goblins called Enri their "Ane-san." In addition, those Goblins differed greatly from the ones they had encountered on the road to Carne; they had the air of veteran warriors. It was even more surprising to see a magic caster in the village. When and where had these Goblins encountered a simple village girl like Enri, and what sort of relationship did she have with them?

Enri simply replied:

"They appeared after I used a magic item given to us by our village's savior, lord Ainz Ooal Gown, and lord Sieg who is just amazing and the most beautiful person I have ever seen, lady Laeticia."

"I see…"

'Lord Sieg...amazing huh…'

Enri's eyes were like twin sparkling stars as she said those name. It made Nfirea feel bitter inside.

Ainz Ooal Gown, Sieg and Laeticia.

Enri had already mentioned this name several times since they started talking.

When Carne Village was attacked by mysterious men dressed as Imperial knights, a magic caster who was passing by saved the village with his tremendous might, returning peace to the village. They was Enri's savior, and people that Nfirea should thank.

However, the look on Enri's face made it difficult for him to thank them in earnest.

He could understand how Enri felt when she mentioned her messiahs, but at the same time, jealousy welled up at the bottom of his heart. He was filled with his one-sided love for Enri, and by his competitive spirit as a man. Influenced by these emotions, his emotions turned ugly.

Nfirea thrust these feelings aside, and turned his thoughts to the magic item of which Enri had spoken.

It was a magic item which summoned Goblins, called the "Horn of the Goblin Whatever."

The magic caster who had saved her village had explained what sort of horn it was, but because her mind was too confused back then, her memory was hazy.

Nfirea felt it was a little strange.

He had no idea what sort of magic item it was, but she should not have forgotten about it. Nobody should have forgotten the details of a magic item with special abilities once they were told about them.

Still, there were many magic items which could summon creatures, just as there were many summoning spells in magic. Any monsters summoned with those spells would vanish after a while.

Summoned monsters were not creatures which could persist for a long time.

If that item could do that, it might well overturn all of magical history and theory to date.

How valuable was a magic item which could accomplish such a feat? Enri did not seem to have realized its value, but if she sold it, she could probably live comfortably for the rest of her life.

Enri had used this rare and precious item because she did not want blood to flow in the village once more.

Nfirea felt that this line of thinking was very much her style. Thus, the Goblins she had summoned called her Ane-san, followed her orders, and in addition to protecting the village they even helped in the fields. Apparently, they were even teaching the villagers how to use bows, and how to defend themselves. As a result, the village had gained several odd new residents.

Part of the reason why the village could accept the Goblins was because the knights who had attacked the villagers had been human beings like them. This had made them distrust human beings, and thus they could more easily accept the Goblins' help.

Another big reason was because the one who bestowed this item on them was the magic caster that had saved the village.

"So, What sort of people are they? I'd like to thank them myself, especially this lord Sieg person, by the way you talk about him you really must have admired him huh."

Nfirea knew nothing about the name Ainz Ooal Gown, Sieg nor Laeticia. Still, anyone who could casually give away precious items like those horns had to be someone important. If she had seen Ainz face, she would not have forgotten it easily. After he told her that line of reasoning, a look of disappointment appeared on her face.

"Is that so… I was thinking you would know him, Nfirea…"

Enri's reply made Nfirea's heart pound violently, and sweat drops bloomed uncomfortably on his back.

…Looks aside, he'd be a hit just going by his strength alone.

The words from last night appeared in Nfirea's mind, and he began to pant and breathe heavily.

Forcing down the uneasiness in his heart, Nfirea asked:

"En-Enri, what, what will you do when you see that Sieg fellow?"

"Hm? Mm, I'd like to thank him properly. The village came together with the idea of building a little copper statue for him and Lord Ainz and lady Laeticia because they saved us, and I need to show my gratitude too…"

After sensing that the answer did not contain any hints of affection which frightened him, Nfirea breathed a sigh of relief, and let his tensed shoulders relaxed.

"Ah. Is that so? Mm… hoo. Yes, of course you need to thank him. If you noticed any special features, or if he reminded you of someone, maybe it would narrow down the field… right, do you know what sort of magic he used?"

"Ah, magic, huh. It was really amazing. Lord Ainz raises his hand and there was a flash of lightning and the knight went down in one hit."

"Lightning, huh… did you hear him say 「Lightning」 or something?"

Enri's eyes looked to the sky, and then she nodded deeply.

"Mm! …I think I heard him say that. Although it seemed like there was more to it than that…"

After hearing Enri trail off into mumbling, Nfirea concluded that this Gown fellow must have said something before casting his spell.

"If that's the case… it should be magic of the third tier."

"…Magic of the third tier… is that very amazing?"

"Of course it is! I can only use second tier magic myself. Third tier of the magic is the limit for normal people. Only talent-holders can use magic beyond that."

"I knew it! Lord Gown is really amazing!"

Enri respectfully nodded. However, Nfirea did not think the magic caster called Ainz was limited to third tier spells. Given that he was a person who could nonchalantly give away those magic items, he might be able to use fifth tier spells, which were the domain of heroes.

Why would such a great person come to a village like this?

A confused Nfirea tilted his head to the side, but then Enri dropped a bombshell which immediately blew all his doubts away.

"In addition, they were also followed by a women dress in a black armor, I think her name was Albedo..."

"Is, is that so…"

He remembered the name from when Nabe had said it. It took a little while but eventually the pieces come together...

The answer was clear.

Ainz Ooal Gown = Momon.

So that also mean Sieg = Siegfried

And Artoria = Laeticia

'Even so how did those people get that types of potion…?'

From that, he could draw a startling revelation.

The magic casters who had saved the village was also a fearsome warriors. Although there were some warriors with magical training, for the most part, one would cancel out the good points of the other. In a similar vein, arcane magic casters could not cast spells while wearing the heavy equipment which most warriors favored.

So they are magic casters of the third tier, as well as a swordsman on par with an adamantite-ranked adventurer.

This must be some kind of joke. If people like that truly existed, they would be a hero among heroes.

Still, why had he asked so many questions on the road?

The most logical answer was that they are magic casters who had learned their art in another country and was not sure about this one. That being the case, it made sense that they would possess potions from another land, whose means of manufacture was completely unknown.

It all clicks together in Nfirea head.

After learning this piece of priceless information, his breathing became irregular, and he could not calm himself down even though he knew Enri was staring at him.

His heart was filled with complex emotions.

They had saved Enri and given away potions. In comparison, Nfirea was a miserable little man who tried to get into these people good graces, in order to learn how they made those potions, and knowing this shamed him.

It was only natural that Enri would fall for someone like Siegfried/Sieg or Ainz/Momon.

As he thought about this, he could not help but sigh heavily.

"Are, are you alright? You don't look too good."

"Mm, mm. I'm okay, I was just thinking about something…"

Perhaps he could try to stave off his feelings of guilt by thinking that he wanted to learn the secret of that potion in order to save people. However, that hardly seemed convincing, given that he had wanted to learn how to make those potions in his capacity as an herbalist.

mighty warriors who was also an excellent magic caster, accompanied by a beautiful woman, who possessed unknown potions, a righteous man that saved an innocent village girl from danger… and himself.

Nfirea considered the distance between himself and these people and fell into despair.

"What's wrong? You seem strange…?"

"Ah, mm. It's nothing."

Nfirea suppressed a sigh and smiled weakly. However, he was not confident he could make it look natural, and Enri's expression showed that she had seen through his fake smile.

"…What should I do? Enri, you don't like people who hide things from you, right?"

"…Everyone has something they'd want to hide when brought before the gods, especially things which would hurt others if spoken. But it's a different matter if hiding those things would hurt others… Nfirea, I won't hate you for it, but if you've committed any crimes, you need to confess your sins to the magistrate!"

"…No, I did nothing wrong."

"Yes… mm! Like I was saying! How could you do a bad thing, Nfirea? I believe in you!"

As he looked at the giggling Enri, Nfirea let the tension flow out of his shoulders.

"Mm, but still, thank you. For some strange reason, I feel the weight lifting off my shoulders. I'll work hard to catch up with him."

So that I can raise my head before you and say that I like you and that I love you.

Enri, who had no idea what Nfirea's impassioned declaration and his previous words meant, simply smiled and nodded politely.

"Hmm…"

Karna looked over to a certain part of the village, sighing as he did.

There, he saw several villagers lined up in a row. There were men, women, and children of all ages. He could see a motherly-looking forty year old woman as well as teenagers. The one thing they had in common was the stern look on their faces, which might even be mistaken for hostility. It was a clear sign that nobody here was in the mood to play around.

A Goblin with a bow addressed the villagers.

Even Karna heightened sense of hearing could not make out his words over the great distance.

After a while, the line of villagers slowly raised their bows. They were simple, shabby shortbows which looked warped and were probably self-made.

After drawing their bows all the way back, they took aim at the strawman some distance away.

The Goblin must have given an order, because the villagers loosed as one.

The bows looked crude, but the arrows they launched flew in beautiful trajectories. All of them struck the straw men, without a single miss.

"Not bad…"

Karna could not help but praise them.

"Are they really that good?"

Narberal, standing behind Karna, could not help but express her doubt.

In all likelihood, Narberal could not understand why their skills were praiseworthy. After all, they were like children at play compared to the archers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

As he realised what Narberal was thinking, a bitter smile bloomed on Karna illusionary face under his helmet.

"You're right, Narberal. Their technique is hardly something to get excited over. However, ten days ago, they did not even know how to use a bow. In order to prevent their spouses, children, and parents from being slain once more, they threw themselves into training, so that they could one day stand with weapons in hand to fight. Is that not worthy of praise?"

What was truly praiseworthy was the depths of the villagers' hate, which had brought them this far.

"My deepest apologies. I had not thought that far."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it so much, Nabe. It's true that their skills aren't really that impressive when compared to Nazarick, so I can also see your point."

Karna watched as more arrows sailed through the air and penetrated the strawmen. An idea suddenly came to mind.

How strong could they become? How strong would he become?

He looked over to his friends who were also watching the villagers.

All of them had attained the maximum level in YGGDRASIL, level one hundred. When they came to the world, their excess XP bar was around ninety percent full. It was just a hunch, but since their other abilities were intact, the concept of levels should exist in this world as well. The question now was whether they could obtain that remaining ten percent of the experience bar and reach level one hundred and one.

To some extent, he had an answer to this question.

He could not become stronger. This was as powerful as he was going to get.

Karna night was one which could no longer grow, but their weakness could be an unfathomable source of strength.

If there were no limits on the inhabitants of this world, if they could surpass the maximum level of one hundred in YGGDRASIL, then Ainz, Karna and Jeanne along with the vassals of the Great Tomb of Nazarick would not be able to defeat them.

And that would definitely—

"It's not impossible…"

"What not impossible?" Jeanne ask.

"The possibility that other player excited here as well"

Karna words causes Ainz to fell into deep thought.

Ainz felt it was possible that the Six Gods who appeared in the Slaine Theocracy six hundred years ago were actually players. Although he did not know why they had appeared so far apart from Ainz, if they counted heteromorphic beings — which had no maximum lifespan — among their number or if they possessed classes which extended their lifespans, there was a very high chance that they had survived to the present day.

If the Six Gods were still hiding in the Slaine Theocracy, and if they had begun powerleveling others using the power of the Six Gods — i.e. helping them with the abilities of powerful players in order to gain experience faster than normal — from six hundred years ago, it might well be possible that there were people in excess of level one hundred.

If that were the case, the reason why the Theocracy had not yet taken over the world might be because there were other beings of the same calibre lying in wait. It might even be the case that being level one hundred meant nothing.

As he thought about that, Ainz's nonexistent gut began cramping up again.

If the Six Gods really were players, then he had to try and get on their good side while he lacked information about this world. According to the members of the Sunlight Scripture, the Imperial knights attacking this village were imposters from the Theocracy, which meant that saving this village was making an enemy of them.

"Was helping them a mistake…"

As he had surmised, gathering more information was a top priority.

"Absolutely not!" Jeanne said with full confidence and surety.

"Well…"

Just as Ainz was absentmindedly pondering these matters, he noticed a teenager running over to him. The hair which normally obscured his eyes swayed from side to side, and he could see a pair of eyes fixed intently on himself.

Ainz immediately had a bad feeling about Nfirea. It looked like the same panic the village chief had from earlier.

"Why the rush? Did an emergency crop up again? This village is really…"

Nfirea reached the mumbling Ainz.

He was panting heavily and his forehead was slick with sweat. His hair, stuck to his skin by his perspiration, revealed a serious expression which was directed at Ainz, Karna, Jeanne and Narberal.

Nfirea seemed a little hesitant and unsure of whether to speak. In the end, he gathered up his determination and asked all of them:

"Momon-san, are you Ainz Ooal Gown And is Sieg and Siegfried the same person, what about Artoria being Laeticia!?"

The sudden burst questions left Ainz along with his friends dumbfounded. They should have denied it immediately.

This brief hesitation was an unspoken admission, and Nfirea continued:

"So it was you, those people. Thank you for saving this village, as well as saving Enri."

As Karna looked on the bowing Nfirea, he quietly replied, "look kid i think you got the wrong person"

After hearing the words Karna managed to squeeze out, Nfirea nodded in understanding.

"Please Don't worry. I understand why you might want to go by a different name, but still, I have to thank you for saving this village — for saving Enri, the girl whom I love."

No one reply to the deeply bowing Nfirea. While part of Jeanne, the motherly/sisterly part, was musing that the words "the girl whom I love" were really a youthful thing, another part of her was reminiscing nostalgically about things past, and at the same time she thought about other, more important things.

Jeanne smiled "that's enough, please raise your head."

"Yes, Lady Laeticia. The truth is… I've been hiding something from all of you as well."

"…Come with me. You guys can stay here and wait for ok." Karna said as the others nodded.

Karna brought Nfirea to a place some distance away. This was to keep everyone especially Narberal from overreacting if she heard something odd.

Once they had gone far enough away from Narberal, Karna turned to face Nfirea.

"Actually…"

Nfirea swallowed nervously, but the look on his face was full of determination.

"Lord Sieg, the potion which Lord Ainz gave that lady in the inn cannot be made by normal methods and is extremely rare. I wanted to know what sort of person would have such a potion and what kind of methods would produce such a potion, which was why I requested this job. I am very sorry about that."

"Ah, so that's what it was."

'I fricken know it, giving someone something when you know nothing about your own surrounding was a really bad idea… dam it Ainz...huh well it my fault to'

As he thought, it had been a mistake.

…Maybe I should have taken back that potion. If I'd gotten that woman adventurer's name as well it would have been fine… although, there's no point in regretting it now.

At the time, Karna felt that giving her that potion was the best course of action.

That woman had said, "Well, seeing as you're dressed in such a flashy suit of armor, surely you must have some healing potions, right?" Perhaps she had not thought about those words before speaking them, but the fact was that they greatly limited the ways in which Ainz could have responded.

For instance, one might see a person getting out of an expensive car. Upon seeing that person's opulent, almost decadent clothing and appearance, they would assume that the car matched their background. But what if that person dressed shabbily? People watching might then think that person had spent all their money on the car. They might even laugh at him.

Karna wanted to avoid that sort of situation.

If he had refused on the spot, people might have become jealous of his beautiful companion Narberal, as well as his own full plate armor. They might have even begun spreading malicious rumors about him. Such rumors were a thing that followed one for life after they appeared, and people would bring them up constantly.

They had come to E-Rantel to build their reputation as an adventurer. As a result, they had to avoid any actions which might damage their public image.

They had given her the potion after considering these factors.

It was a gamble which they had lost, but Karna did not lament it. This was not a fatal mistake, and all he needed to do was work hard to compensate for it. After all, they were not a perfect being who could do no wrong.

Still, he did not know why Nfirea was apologizing.

"Is there anything to be sorry for?"

"Eh?"

"…Well, I can't say I feel entirely good about someone hiding something from me while smiling and shaking my hand, but then this assignment was designed to build a connection with me, am I correct? What's wrong with that?"

A deeply puzzled Ainz asked this question from the bottom of his heart.

"Lord Sieg, you're really a magnanimous person…"

Karna had no idea why Nfirea was so impressed by him. Building connections was a basic element of living in society, so there was nothing wrong with what Nfirea had done. He was somewhat confused about the details, but he vaguely understood. Perhaps Nfirea thought that Karna believed that Nfirea was drawing close to Karna in order to steal industrial secrets.

"If I told you how to make the potion, what would you do with that knowledge?"

Nfirea gasped in surprise, and after a brief period of thought he answered:

"I had not thought that far ahead. I just wanted to know because I was curious… Granny's probably the same way too."

"I see. Then, there's no problem. If you were planning to exploit it for criminal gain, it would be a different matter, but if not, then it's fine."

"You're really amazing. No wonder… looks at you that way…"

As Nfirea murmured, the wind dried the sweat on his forehead, and his hair fell down to cover his eyes again. Still, Karna could see a look of admiration in his eyes, like a boy meeting with his favorite baseball player.

Nfirea's expression reminded Karna of the look of surprise and immense gratitude on his own face, when his friends had saved him after he had been repeatedly PKed back when he first started playing YGGDRASIL and was not good at it yet.

For a moment, he felt something, embarrassment, and then that emotion was damped down.

Karna was surprised that Nfirea's attitude could affect his heart, but he immediately calmed himself down and moved on. First, he had to be sure of one thing.

"Speaking of which, are you the only one who knows of our true identity?"

"Yes, I didn't tell anyone else."

"Is that so, that's good."

Saying that, Karna thought about how to continue speaking with Nfirea, but he had no idea where to begin. In the end, he decided to ask him directly.

"…Right now, me and my friend are simple adventurer. I would be glad if you could keep that in mind."

"Yes, I thought you'd say something like that. I'm sorry for causing you all this trouble, Lord Sieg, but I needed to thank you in person. Thank you very much for saving Enri and this village."

Nfirea delivered his earnest thanks with a sincere look in his eyes.

"There's no need to stand on ceremony. I was merely righting a wrong where I saw it."

"Even so, there shouldn't have been a need to give away those horns."

The truth was that there was no particular reason behind giving those horns away. However, if that was how Nfirea had interpreted the gift, then he would leave it at that. Karna said nothing but merely nodded in a magnanimous way.

In his capacity as an employer, Nfirea arranged with Karna to head for the forest in an hour's time. After thanking him again, he turned and left.

As he watched Nfirea vanish into the distance, his friends along with Narberal who came and bowed before Karna.

"Lord Karna, my sincerest apologies!"

"People are watching, raise your head."

Once she had straightened up, Karna continued in a barbed tone, "And you're not wrong to say that. All this was because you mentioned Albedo's name."

"...then, please allow me to atone with my life!"

'…That did not sound like a joke at all' Ainz thought.

Everyone in the Great Tomb of Nazarick was like this. They considered the members of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown to be their absolute superiors. They took great pride in their loyalty — to the point of death — to these Supreme Beings.

Though it felt like a bit of a burden to Ainz, having his hand-crafted NPCs being loyal to him was not a bad thing. It might well be the fate of any creator.

Narberal was an NPC like that. If he jokingly ordered her to kill herself, she would immediately take her own life. The reason why she had asked for permission at all was because of her absolute loyalty to her master, to whom her life belonged.

"…Enough. Anyone can make mistakes. All you need to do is strive not to make the same mistake twice. Work hard, step by step, and do not repeat your past failures. we forgive you, Narberal Gamma." Jeanne said in a stern voice.

Narberal weighed the desire to pay for her mistakes with death against the loyalty compelling her to obey Jeanne command not to die. After a while, the balance of her mental scales seemed to have tipped to one side.

Narberal slowly lowered her head.

"My deepest thanks! I will strive not to make the same mistake again my lady!"

"…Well, don't mind it too much. Our identity as an adventurer was not completely compromised, so you just need to pay more attention in future. However… depending on the circumstances, we may need to eliminate Nfirea…" Karna said in a low, dark tone.

"Shall I take care of him now?"

"Don't be foolish. It would be troublesome if we messed up this assignment." Ainz warned.

Nfirea's grandmother was a famous herbalist in E-Rantel. Annoying or making an enemy of her would make it more difficult for Ainz to reach his aims.

"In any case… we'll just have to see how it goes." Jeanne sigh.

There was a large clearing in the dense forest about a hundred meters from the village. Although that clearing had been made by the villagers cutting down trees — under the protection of the Goblins — in order to make logs, it still looked like the gaping maw of some gigantic beast.

Ainz and the others made their final checks, and then the young man who had hired them spoke up:

"We'll be entering the forest after this, so I'll be counting on you to protect me. That said, the area just inside the forest is part of the Wise King of the Forest's sphere of control, so under normal circumstances, the chances of meeting other monsters are very low. The problem is that the Ogres we met yesterday came from a place near the Wise King of the Forest's territory, so something must have happened in the woods. Although it's hardly something that I need to warn you gentlemen about, I hope everyone will remain on guard."

Nfirea's gaze rested briefly on Ainz and his friends.

The Swords of Darkness turned to look at them as well.

"Well, with you guys around, we should be fine."

"…If that monster called the Wise King of the Forest appears, let us hold it back. You should escape first." Jeanne said.

They could not help but gasped as they heard Jeanne confident pronouncement. She seemed to shine even brighter in their eyes than after yesterday's battle with the Ogres.

Ainz felt like something was wrong every time the people around him did that. This was a relic of rarely being praised in his past life. He envied the way Narberal could accept their awe so naturally with a smug look on her face. As glances to his side to see Karna reaction. However he was calm as ever, Ainz suppress his urge to sigh.

'Out of the three of us, I'm the least experienced one in terms of being a ruler and hero… well it made sense, Karna and Jeanne IRL jobs basically require having excellent people skills, of course me being just an ordinary salary man can't compare to them…'

"If there's a need to run, could you please leave without delay? If the Wise King of the Forest is strong, I'll need to face it with my full power, and I don't want to get everyone caught up in it." Ainz said.

"Understood. If that happens, we'll protect Nfirea-san and flee the forest. But don't push yourself too hard either, Momon-san."

"Thank you. I'll escape when it gets dangerous, beside I'll have my friends here backing me up"

"Then… Momon-san."

Nfirea seemed to be wavering between speech and silence. In the end, he made up his mind and said:

"Could you not kill the Wise King of the Forest, but instead chase it away?"

"…Why is that?"

"Mm, Carne Village has not been attacked by monsters because the Wise King of the Forest's territory is nearby. If you defeat the Wise King of the Forest…"

"I see…"

"That might be a bit much. Momon-san is strong, but his opponent is a legendary monster. Wouldn't he be in trouble if he couldn't defend himself with his full strength? How would he have the luxury of—"

"It fine." Karna cuts in.

"Wha—!" Lukrut exclaimed in shock.

The other Swords of Darkness remained silent, but their surprise was written all over their faces.

"If it was one of us that another story but me and Artoria will be there as well, so it fine"

Karna reply, brimming with confidence, raised goosebumps on the skin of his fellow adventurers.

"Even if your opponent is… a legendary monster that's lived for centuries…"

"Is this the sort of attitude that only the strong have…"

In stark contrast to the Swords of Darkness, Nfirea had an idea of their power, and he had a relieved expression on his face.

As Jeanne looked toward the young man, Jeanne laughed in her heart.

Nfirea hoped that monsters would not attack Carne Village. That being the case, all Ainz needed to do was to have other monsters replace the Wise King of the Forest in enforcing its area of influence. That way he could still fulfill Nfirea's wish.

Even if he ended up killing the Wise King of the Forest, all he had to do was dispatch vassals from Nazarick to replace him.

"All right! Now, let's move on. The herbs I'm looking for this time look like this. If anyone finds them, let me know."

Nfirea produced a sample of a withered plant from a herb-gathering pouch on his belly.

"Oh, it's Ngenac grass!"

To Ainz and Karna, it looked like the nearby weeds. However, Dyne the druid And Jeanne was different, and they immediately named the plant.

Dyne look at Jeanne and laugh "so you know them as well Artoria?"

"...well I grew up having to know them…" Jeanne smiled as an image of her parents came to her mind. When she was little, she and parents would tend to the fields as they were all farmers. It was when she meets Karna that her life changed forever. He gave her a chance to go to school and be a normal girl, he also gave her a stable job and the two eventually fell in love.

Just as Ainz was hesitating over whether to pretend that he knew, everyone looked at Ainz.

"Momon-san, are you all right?"

"Eh? Ah, that plant? I've heard of it."

Ainz calmly nodded in agreement.

If he were not undead, his voice might have become high-pitched from panic, but his helmet prevented others from seeing his expression, which also concealed his feelings. Ainz was sheathed in heavy armor and cut an imposing figure, but his heart was closer to that of a bunny.

"Yes, this herb is commonly used when making potions."

"So it's commonly found near adventurers!"

"Indeed it is. Now I see why we came to this place — I've heard that wild herbs are more potent than cultivated ones, no?"

"That's right. Incidentally, the fact that we use all-natural ingredients in our potions is a point of pride for us! Well, they're only about ten percent more effective than those of the competition."

"That ten percent can be crucial to people who frequently put their lives on the line. To think you sell better potions for the same price… as expected of the Bareare Apothecary, which built its reputation on selling high-quality potions."

As he heard Nfirea and the Swords of Darkness discussing potions, Ainz fell into deep thought.

In YGGDRASIL, healing potions were usually made through skills that were only available through certain job classes, or by casting the desired spells on the appropriate ingredients. Although Ainz knew a little about this field, all he knew was that the ingredients were made by compounding specific substances with an alchemical solvent, but never through the use of herbs.

In other words, potions in this world were made in a different way from YGGDRASIL. This must have been what Nfirea meant by "could not be made by normal methods."

Ainz was convinced that mastering the potion-making techniques of this world would strengthen Nazarick. The question now was how to master them.

As he was thinking, the conversation seemed to have turned to the job once more, and Ainz turned to listen.

"There's a clearing in the forest, which I've designated as our destination. I've already told you about that place, Lukrut-san, so please guide us there."

After hearing Lukrut's casual "Leave it to me," Nfirea turned back to the others.

"Then, let's begin the herb collection—"

"—I have a suggestion, actually."

"Please tell us, Momon-san."

"Since Nabe can cast something like the 「Alarm」 spell we used when pitching camp, could we temporarily split off when we reach the destination?"

Everyone, Nfirea included, wrinkled their brows. This was because they were uneasy about their strongest fighting force leaving them in such a dangerous area. However, Nfirea quickly replied:

"That's fine. However, please don't go for too long."

"Of course. In order to avoid getting lost, I'll tie a rope to myself. Tug on it if there's anything."

"Then, could I go too? I need to watch carefully in case you guys do something weird in the bushes."

'Idiot…' Karna sigh.

"Die, inferior life form (cockroach). Is lust the only thing left in your head? If I castrated you, would you still be able to move?"

"…That's enough, Nabe. Lukrut-san, there's no need to go that far. Although, I'd like to ask Ninya-san if there's a spell which can tell you where members of your group are when you're scattered in the forest. It would be convenient if such a magic existed."

"I've never heard of such a spell. It would be very handy if it existed."

Ainz nodded as he heard Ninya's denial.

There's a sixth tier spell which can detect the location of specific objects. Do they lack knowledge in that field, or is it that there are spells which are unique to YGGDRASIL just as there are spells which are unique to this world?

Ainz put these thoughts aside for a moment and raised his chin to signal Narberal, indicating that she should get ready. Having received her orders, Narberal immediately began sizing up the Swords of Darkness.

"Then, Momon-san and his team will leave us for a while, and we'll pick the herbs after they return."

Since it was their employer's decision, nobody else could object. The Swords of Darkness nodded one by one.

After the discussion and other matters were concluded, Nfirea called for them to move out. The group shouldered their baggage and entered the forest.

There were trees felled by the villagers nearby. The earth was already dried out. It looked like an easily walkable stretch of forest, but the scenery before their eyes slowly transformed into something like a green labyrinth.

There were no landmarks in the forest, and it was impossible to tell in which direction one was moving. A sense of unease filled everyone, as though they had been swallowed up. The sky-scraping trees further intensified that uneasiness, and most people would have been frightened by this scene. However, Ainz had an undead mind and felt no fear, apart from the vestiges of his human mind. He calmly praised the magnificent natural vista before him.

In YGGDRASIL's forest and other natural zones, he considered these things to be simple in-game scenery. Even now, he still thought the same way.

Ainz — who was proud of the design of the Great Tomb of Nazarick — was filled with complex emotions. He had not expected that natural forest could be so awe-inspiring.

'I see why Blue Planet-san liked nature so much…' Karna **[MESSAGE].**

'No kidding' Jeanne repled.

They looked around as they surveyed the forest, but it was peaceful, and no one saw any traces of any animals. Aside from the distant sound of birdsong, there was no sign of life here at all.

At the same time, Ainz observed Lukrut the ranger advancing carefully, keeping a lookout with all his five senses. He seemed to have concluded that there was no living creature hiding nearby.

Actually, there's someone hiding behind us.

Ainz was proud of the person sneaking behind him.

The group four was filled with tension as they walked silently through the forest, where the sun's light could not penetrate and which was surprisingly cool. They sweated heavily because the terrain was difficult and they were under no small amount of mental stress.

Finally, they reached a clearing that was roughly fifty meters across.

"We've arrived at our destination. We'll spread out from here and pick herbs."

Everyone began setting their gear down after they heard Nfirea unburdening himself of his baggage. However, they did not relax. Instead, they carefully observed their surroundings, ready to deal with any sudden developments.

This was because they were no longer in the world of men.

"Then, we'll move as we planned earlier."

After Nfirea replied to that statement in the affirmative, Ainz tied a rope to a nearby tree, then picked the other end up and headed into the forest.

The rope he was holding was not thick, but it was very strong. It would not snap just by being dragged along the ground. While holding the rope, Ainz and his friends could move in a straight line into the forest.

Normally speaking, it was almost impossible to move in a straight line, since the trees would get in one's way. However, the rope they were holding showed the path, and so the two of them could proceed despite their inexperience with the forest.

They moved about fifty meters into the forest, stopping when the rope had almost run out.

Trees and vegetation blocked the way behind them, so they did not worry about being spotted. There was someone nearby who could immediately deal with anybody who was following them, so there was no need to fret about that either.

"Here should be fine."

"Yes."

"Then, let's discuss how to improve our reputation here."

"…May I ask how you plan to do that? Does it involve finding a lot of the herbs they want?"

Karna looked quietly at Narberal, and then shook his head:

"We plan to fight the Wise King of the Forest."

Narberal seemed to have a question mark over her head, so Ainz explained further:

"Our aim is to impress our might upon them in an easily understandable way."

"…Was the battle with the Ogres not enough to convince them of your power?"

"…You're not wrong to say that, but Goblins and Ogres are not enough. When they discuss my accomplishments back in town, there's a world of difference between saying I slew an Ogre in one blow and saying I defeated the Wise King of the Forest. One of them will spread much faster and further than the other. This is why I need to put on a good show." Jeanne said.

"I see! As I thought, your plans take everything into consideration, Supreme ones! Still, how will we find that Wise King of the Forest?"

"I've already planned for that." Karna said.

Just as Narberal was about to ask, a fifth speaker cut in.

"Yup~ that's why I'm here."

Narberal jerked her head over toward the source of the sudden voice. She even thrust her right hand out, preparing to aim and cast a spell. However, her face changed immediately upon seeing who the speaker was.

"Lady Aura! Please don't scare me like that."

"Sorry~"

A dark elf girl popped out from behind a nearby tree, with a beaming smile that seemed to say ehehe on her face.

She was one of the twin Guardians of the Sixth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Aura Bella Fiora.

'Aha, kawaii…' Jeanne smiled brightly as she suppress the urge to run over and hug the cute dark elf in her arms.

"May I ask when you arrived?" Karna asked.

"Hmm? I've been following behind you guys ever since you entered the forest."

Aura was a beast tamer-cum-ranger, so tracking people in the forest was child's play to her. While it was true that Lukrut was also a ranger, the difference in their abilities was so great that there was no way he could have spotted her.

"So, my job here is to find the monster called the Wise King of the Forest, then urge it to attack you right."

"That's right. According to our previous intelligence, the Wise King of the Forest is a four-legged beast with silver fur and a snake-like tail. Does that remind you of anything?" Ainz said.

"Hm, it's fine. It should be that guy," Aura replied as she glanced upward.

"If that's the case, do you want me to tame it directly?"

"…That is also an alternative, but let's not."

Aura the beast tamer should be able to easily subdue the Wise King of the Forest. However, it would be troublesome if someone found out that Ainz had been pulling all the strings. Therefore, it would be wiser to avoid having to worry about such things.

"By the way, Aura, how's the progress on that matter I asked you to handle?" Karna question.

"Yes!"

Aura swiftly genuflected before Karna, in the manner of a vassal to her liege.

It did not quite seem like Aura's style, but Karna responded in kind, listening to her report in his capacity as her master.

"The order you gave me to 'investigate and control the interior of the forest, verify if there are any lifeforms willing to obey Nazarick, and set up a resource storehouse,' is going well, Lord Karna."

"Is that so," Karna replied simply.

Before heading to E-Rantel, Karna had handed down different orders to each Guardian. The reason he ordered Aura — and Mare — to scout the Great Forest was in order to ensure the safety of Nazarick and collect information.

As for the resource storehouse, it might be better to describe it as more of a shelter. The reason he ordered her to build it there was to provide a hiding place in case there was an emergency and he could not return to Nazarick. In addition, it would be best to have an alternate base of operations to avoid Nazarick's location being revealed. And of course, it could be used to store all manner of supplies and resources.

He had ordered her to find creatures which would obey Nazarick because he wanted to see if he could powerlevel them. In addition, he wanted to learn about how one went about gaining levels in this world.

Because of this string of tasks, Aura, Mare, the vassals designated for construction, and other powerful entities had invaded the forest and disrupted the balance of power within it. This was why the Ogres and other monsters had chosen to flee, even at the risk of trading within the domain of the Wise King of the Forest.

"Still, the construction of the storehouse will take a long time to complete."

"That can't be helped. After all, it has only been a short while since Karna gave you that order, so don't fret over it." Jeanne said.

While Aura had access to golems and undead from Nazarick, which could labor forever without needing to sleep or eat, this was not a task which could be easily finished, considering the amount of work that needed to be done.

"It's all right if it takes extra time. Try your best to make it perfect. Make ample preparations for defense, so we won't fall short if we're attacked."

"Yes! Understood lady Jeanne!"

"Very well. Then, Aura, I'll leave the matter of the Wise King of the Forest to you."

"Yes!" Aura replied energetically as she stood back up.

After the four bade Aura farewell, a gigantic black wolf with a lustrous black pelt padded out from behind one of the trees, as though it had been waiting for that moment. Its fiery red eyes blazed with intelligence, proving that it was no mere beast.

That was not all.

On the branches of another tree was a six-legged monster which looked like a fusion of a chameleon and an iguana. Its scaly skin ran through a kaleidoscopic array of lightning-fast color changes. It was as large as the wolf from earlier.

"Fen, Quadracile, what's with you? Worried about me?"

The massive wolf called Fen whined and nuzzled Aura. Quadracile stuck out its tongue and lightly licked at the top of Aura's head.

"Hey hey, we still have to do, the work that the supreme ones gave us."

Aura's fighting strength was second from the bottom among the Guardians of Nazarick, and the fact was that some of the Area Guardians were stronger than her. However, that only took into consideration their solo abilities.

Aura's forte did not lie in fighting as a lone unit, but as part of a group. Of the hundreds of monsters which Aura could summon, the highest level among them was eighty. With the aid of Aura's skills, they could reach level ninety or so. With these beasts at her command, her combat abilities far surpassed those of any other Guardian.

The two monsters here were two of Aura's favorite high-level magical beasts — the Divine Beast Fenrir (also known as Fen), and the equally powerful Itzamna, Quadracile.

As they heard Aura's words, Fen and Quadracile stopped playing around.

"All right, let's go!"

Aura led the two magical beasts in a sprint through the forest. Even though they were surrounded by dense woodland, they were not impeded in the slightest, moving as fast as the wind.

After about thirty minutes of running, Aura reached her destination.

Aura smiled. It was a cold smile which did not fit her youthful face. It was equal parts innocent and cruel.

"I kind of wanted it for myself, but lord Karna did give me an order, so it can't be helped."

She did not sound like she was talking to her pets, but rather, like she was muttering to her jewellery.

Aura knew where the Wise King of the Forest made its lair because she had long wanted to subdue it for her own. The Wise King of the Forest was much weaker than Aura's own monsters, so it had no value to her. However, it was an unfamiliar creature to Aura, and that inflamed her collector's desire.

It was a shame to have to let it go, but if she was giving it up to her master, the Supreme Beings to whom she owed all loyalty, then she had no complaints.

"Now then…"

Aura began transmuting the air molecules in her lungs. The newly recombined breath was not a natural substance, and it leaked from between her pink lips. This breath of hers could control emotions.

Normally, her breath only filled a very small radius around her, so it was more like a special type of passive skill. However, if she wanted, she could combine this technique with other targeting skills to hit any target within two kilometers with perfect accuracy, even in a forest like this.

However, there was no need for that. Because her objective was to remove any signs of her passing, she snuck up on her target. Not even her magical beasts, let along the natural animals of the forest, could detect Aura as she was now.

Aura proudly walked up to the Wise King of the Forest, all traces of her presence thoroughly erased, and breathed lightly. Her breath contained elements which induced terror, startling awake the sleeping Wise King of the Forest.

Every hair on the Wise King of the Forest stood on end, and it fled immediately. The speed of a terrified four-legged beast was startling. Yet Aura — who was chasing it from behind — was faster still.

Aura shadowed the Wise King of the Forest, harrying it towards Ainz, like she was a guided specter of Death.

"…Still, I wonder if I could take its pelt if it dies…"

There was a disturbance in the forest

Lukrut pricked up his ears as he sensed the change in the air. He surveyed his surroundings with a grim expression on his face and wariness in his heart.

"Something's coming."

When they heard this, the Swords of Darkness stopped their herb-gathering and drew their weapons in preparation for battle. Shortly after, Ainz tightened his grip on his greatswords as well.

"Is it the Wise King of the Forest?"

Nobody answered Nfirea's uneasy question as he stuffed the herbs into his bags. Everyone merely watched the depths of the forest in silence.

"This is bad."

Even the usually flighty Lukrut was speaking in a serious tone:

"Something massive is coming. I don't know why it's moving in a serpentine pattern, but from the sound of trampled grass, it should be here soon. However… can't be sure if it's the Wise King of the Forest."

"Let's fall back, it doesn't matter if it's the Wise King of the Forest or not, staying here is very dangerous. Even if it's not the Wise King of the Forest, we've entered its territory, so the chances of it giving chase are very high."

As he said this, Peter looked to Ainz.

"Momon-san, can we trouble you to be the rear guard?"

"No problem. Leave it to us... We'll take care of the rest."

The Swords of Darkness called out their encouragement to Ainz and his team one after the other as they helped Nfirea retreat from the forest.

"Momon-san, please don't overdo it."

Nfirea's voice carried an absolute faith in Ainz, and his eyes glittered with admiration underneath his hair. It made Ainz feel deeply uncomfortable and he wished that they would leave quickly.

As Karna watched them disappear into the forest on the other side of the clearing, a twinge of unease ran through Karna. He was not sure if he could leave the forest by himself, but then he immediately considered that he could let Aura guide him.

There was a more pressing problem before him at the moment—

"Damn… They might think it's not the Wise King of the Forest… and even if I bring it back to Nazarick, I need some proof of having beaten it… Should I cut off one of its legs?"

"—lord Karna."

Narberal's gaze was far afield, looking at the mighty shadow that emerged from the distant trees. There was no way to make its shape out because it was hiding behind the trees, and without the sun to light it, there was no way to tell if its body was, in fact, silver.

"Has our guest arrived?"

Or maybe we're the guests, Karna idly mused as he stepped up in front of Narberal. He had no idea of how strong it was — what level it was, so Karna made the logical decision of putting himself in front of the magic caster Narberal, who was not suited to melee combat.

Once him and Ainz got in front of Narberal and Jeanne, they felt the air move. He immediately crossed his greatswords in front of him like a shield.

They all heard something like the sound of steel meeting steel, and a tremendous force bore down on Ainz's arms. A weighty and swift object had struck the greatswords Ainz was holding.

He saw a long, serpentine tail slowly retreated behind a tree.

Its tail attacks like a bullwhip. However, judging by the feel and sound of the impact, that tail must be as hard as metal… its attack radius of over twenty meters will be hard to deal with, but how does it live with a tail like that?

With no frontliner skills, Ainz had no idea how to deal with it. All he could do was advance into melee with his foe.

Ainz sighed. Of course, this was just going through the motions, since Ainz had no lungs. He braced his shoulders into a battle-stance, ready to counterattack. In response to this, a serene bass voice boomed out from the forest:

"How spectacular; to think thou could endure the blow of this one. Perhaps this is the first time this one hath encountered a foe possessed of such prowess."

"Thou… this one…"

Karna face hardened, and then he considered that those words had already been translated. Karna decided that this was the closest equivalent to what had actually been said.

"Then, oh trespasser upon mine demesne. Shouldst thou decide to quit the field, this one shall not pursue thee, in honor of thine magnificent defense… what say thee?"

"…What a foolish question. Of course I plan to defeat you for my own gain… speaking of which, are you so insecure about your appearance that you have to hide in the shadows? Or are you shy by nature?" Ainz said.q

"…What a wild tongue thou hast, oh trespasser! Now behold this one's mighty form! Stare with eyes wide and tongue tied, and tremble in dread and awe!"

The Wise King of the Forest slowly emerged from the trees, revealing its body to him.

As he saw it, all of the three supreme beings yes went wide.

"Fufufu, this one senses thy fear and alarm from beneath thine helmet!"

A smile twisted the face of the magical beast, and it curled its long tail. There were strange glyphs and symbols on the silvery fur covering its body. It was about the size of a horse, but it was low to the ground, being larger in the horizontal rather than the vertical dimension.

The Wise King of the Forest shrank the distance between them.

"What is this…"

An indescribable feeling washed over everyone. After becoming an heteromorphic race, all the strong emotions they felt were immediately suppressed, some more than others. With that in mind, this was probably not a very strong emotion. Even so, they had not felt this in a long time — including their time in YGGDRASIL — the sensation when a monster appeared before them.

'...no, this can't be… its ... it's a…KAWAII!' Jeanne mentally scream.

"Ahem…I have a question; what is the name of your species?" Jeanne said as she calms down and raised her hand like student asking for a question to be answered by her teacher.

"...This one is known in thy tongue as the Wise King of the Forest. Apart from that, this one holds no other titles."

Jeanne eyes was now shadowed by her hair, and then she asked further:

"Your species… might they be called… a Djungarian Hamsters?"

From what Jeanne could see, it closely resembled a Djungarian Hamster. Its fur was silvery, or rather, Snow white, contrasted by its black, round eyes, and its body looked like a gigantic bun.

Of course, hamsters did not have such long tails, not did they grow larger than a human being. However, those two factors aside, she honestly could not think of any other animal which could compare. Fully a hundred out of a hundred people would agree that it was a hamster. Well, a giant Djungarian Hamster. Maybe a mutant Djungarian Hamster, or something like that?

It tilted its adorable head — it did not seem to have a neck — and the Wise King of the Forest sniffed at the air before speaking again:

"This… this one hath lived in solitude all mine life. This one canst not answer thee, for this one knowst not of this one's… or dost thou imply that thou knowst of this one's species?"

"Um… er… I guess, sort of… one of my former friends once kept a creature which was similar to you…"

Jeanne recalled that friend of her, and how that friend had not logged onto YGGDRASIL for about a week because that friend's pet Djungarian Hamster had died.

Behind her, Narberal quietly went, "Ohhhh," probably because she had learned something about one of the Forty One Supreme Beings.

"What!? To think beings like this one would be raised as pets!"

The Wise King of the Forest puffed up its cheeks.

Ainz had no idea whether it was unhappy or trying to intimidate him, or something else. The only thing Ainz could be sure of was that it was definitely not eating.

"Hm… This one prays thee enlighten me on that matter. This one is a living being and must procreate. If others of this one's breed exist, then this one must go forth and multiply, lest this one become a failure as a living being."

According to the Wise King of the Forest's logic, Ainz — who could not reproduce — was unfit to be a living being. As he clung to the excuse that he was undead and not, in fact, a living creature, Ainz weakly answered:

"…Er, it wasn't as big as you, anyway."

"Be that as it may… perchance it was a juvenile?"

"…No, even fully grown, it was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand actually."

With a vague sense of sadness, the Wise King of the Forest's whiskers drooped down.

"Indeed, that is quite a stretch… this one must pass the years in solitude, after all…"

"…If you were a more impressive looking species it wouldn't be so bad… but you're a hamster. I do sympathize with your circumstances, but if there were others like you, your numbers would increase without end and the world might end up being destroyed…"

The Wise King of the Forest twitched its whiskers. While its eyes were the same shiny black as always, there seemed to be some anger in its tone:

"What an outrage! Increasing the numbers of one's species is important! And this one hath lived without companionship all mine life! 'Tis only natural to desire others of mine kind!"

"Oh… um… well, that's certainly true… forgive me, I misspoke…"

Ainz recalled his comrades from Ainz Ooal Gown and apologized. Although, he felt terribly mixed up about remembering his friends after being lectured by a hamster and then apologizing to it.

"…Think naught of it. This one grants thee mine forgiveness. Then, let us abandon this idle banter and show each other our fatal resolve. Listen well… oh trespasser who hath profaned mine demesne, offer thy life as this one's sustenance!"

"Er… um…"

Ainz felt his motivation draining away.

Even if that cute appearance was just a facade, he still could not bring himself to fight it in earnest. No matter how you looked at it, having the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick duel a giant hamster was just sad.

Even if he defeated it, he would have to take the corpse of a Djungarian Hamster and tell people, "This is the Wise King of the Forest, the fight was too intense and I couldn't chase it away." How would adventurers — including the Swords of Darkness — view that? Even in the best case scenario, they would simply look silently at Ainz with pitying eyes.

In that case, he would not defeat the Wise King of the Forest, but capture it alive to pick its brains.

"guys, fall back," Ainz said, forcing some semblance of fighting spirit back into himself as he gave that order. Narberal had a look of absolute confidence in Ainz's victory on her face as she bowed deeply and then retreated to a corner of the clearing.

'Wise king my ass' Karna singh tirelessly as he and Jeanne stepped back.

"Oh — but know thou that being outnumbered is no handicap for this one?"

"…I can't do something as embarrassing as fighting a hamster two-on-one."

After hearing those words and seeing Ainz raise his weapons in a fighting stance, the Wise King of the Forest lowered its body and tensed its entire body.

"Regret not thy decision! Now bear the charge of this one!"

The massive body forcefully kicked off the earth with a mighty bang, and lunged at Ainz.

The flying tackle of the Wise King of the Forest's massive body would have tossed any ordinary person away, had they been hit by it without using a martial art.

However, Ainz used the blades of his greatswords as a shield, and took the Wise King of the Forest's charge head on.

Despite its fearsome destructive power, Ainz still easily resisted it..

"Muuuuu!"

The Wise King of the Forest was surprised by the unmoving Ainz, and slashed with the surprisingly sharp claws on its forepaws. Ainz raised the greatsword in his left hand to block the strike, and swung with the greatsword in his right.

He did not put his full strength into it, but it was still quite a forceful blow.

There was a loud crash, and Ainz's strike was deflected away, his arm numb from the impact. It would seem the Wise King of the Forest had blocked Ainz's strike with its claws, and the two attacks had bounced apart after an intense mid-air clash.

"Well done! But how about this? 「Charm Species」."

Mind-affecting effects were useless against the undead. Ignoring his opponent's magical attack, Ainz swung both his greatswords.

There was a sound of clashing metal again, and Ainz's swords were deflected once more.

Ainz narrowed his eyes under his helmet.

While that had only been a probing attack, the Wise King of the Forest had deflected that strike with its skin. It would seem that its hide was harder than most metals.

Was it not soft and fluffy fur? It was quite surprising, but Ainz chased away these thoughts which had no place in a battle.

Ainz's physical attack power would be around that of a level thirty warrior, in YGGDRASIL terms. However, that was greatly affected by spells and equipment, so he could not be sure. Still, with that as a baseline, the Wise King of the Forest had the fighting power of a level thirty or so character.

A frown grew on the illusory face under Ainz's helmet.

"Not bad… very suitable for melee combat training."

Ainz was certain that as long as he went all-out, he could definitely defeat this opponent. Although he had to stay alert, it was still good practice for being a frontliner.

Ainz continued swinging his twin greatswords, and the Wise King of the Forest continued its adroit deflection of his blows. Then another glyph on its body lit up, and it cast a spell.

"「Blindness」."

Unlike the previous 「Charm Species」, this non-mind-affecting spell of blindness could potentially have affected Ainz. However, Ainz had a racial skill which rendered him immune to low tier magic. Therefore, the spell vanished without ever taking effect.

A different symbol lit up when it used that spell… it seems the symbols on its body represent the spells it can use…

There were spellcasting monsters in YGGDRASIL. While the numbers of spells they could use varied greatly according to their level and species, as a rough guideline, they could use about eight kinds of magic. Similarly, the Wise King of the Forest had roughly eight kinds of tattoos on its body, so Ainz felt like he was fighting a monster from YGGDRASIL.

The Wise King of the Forest did not notice its spell had been resisted, and attacked with its forepaws. Ainz blocked with the greatsword in one hand and countered with the greatsword in his other.

He thought of past battles alongside his friends.

Touch Me, who wielded a sword and shield and was one of the greatest warriors in YGGDRASIL. Nishiki Enrai, who bore the twin kodachis named Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi, and boasted the highest attack power in the guild. The man also known as No Second Strike — although that was not actually the case — wielding the twin nodachis known as God-Slaying Slash Emperor and Takemikazuchi Mk 8, Warrior Takemikazuchi.

And then he recalled the brave man he had encountered recently — Gazef Stronoff, the Kingdom's Warrior Captain.

Perhaps Ainz had travelled to E-Rantel in the guise of a warrior because he had been moved by that man.

Ainz mocked himself for thinking of these things now.

I can't let my mind wander in combat. Although there's certainly enough leeway for it, I can't be careless… even if my opponent is a hamster…

He imagined the countless sword strokes his companions had made, and Ainz attacked continuously, trying his best to reproduce those moves. At the same time, he used the greatsword in his left hand to intercept the Wise King of the Forest's counterattacks.

Both sides went back and forth, neither side being able to strike a decisive blow, until Ainz's greatsword finally breached the Wise King of the Forest's defense.

"What!?"

The scent of fresh blood followed the sensation of the greatsword piercing into flesh. The greatsword in his right hand grazed the hide of the Wise King of the Forest, sending hairs flying.

He planned to continue his assault with his left-hand greatsword, but the Wise King of the Forest sensed it was at a disadvantage and leapt away, landing about ten meters away from Ainz.

I've heard hamsters escape their nests by jumping, but I've never seen one retreat before.

Just as Ainz began losing himself in thought after battling the giant hamster, the Wise King of the Forest lowered its body.

Ainz watched his opponent's movements in surprise.

What does it plan to do at that range? If it's a charge like just now, then I'll just hold my sword out to let it kill itself… but it's most likely that it's going to use another spell.

The Wise King of the Forest curled its tail up behind it, but judging by its length, it probably shouldn't be able to reach —

"— No, that's not it!"

Ainz realised that he had miscalculated.

The tail strike at the beginning had come from a long distance away. In other words, he was still in range of the tail attack.

As expected, the tail swung in a huge, sweeping arc, speeding at Ainz with its surprising length. Ainz blocked it with his right-hand greatsword… and his eyes went wide with surprise. This was because the tail had turned at a right angle, using the greatsword as a fulcrum of sorts.

"!"

He swung his greatsword to the side, aiming to cast away the tail which was on his sword. However, he was a moment too late, and the tail scraped the back plate of his armor, sending an impact through his body.

Due to a racial skill, an attack like this would not have hurt Ainz even if the tail had struck him dead on. However, if one thought of this as a first-person shooter game, then he had made a great mistake.

"Now, we are one for one."

A mere hamster — anger rose inside him.

Then, let me try a ranged attack of my own.

Having decided this, Ainz firmly gripped his right-hand greatsword. As Ainz was preparing his attack, the Wise King of the Forest spoke, with heartfelt respect:

"That armor… 'tis truly amazing. Nay, thy strength and swordplay are both breathtaking to behold. Thou art truly a superlative warrior. Art thou a man of fame in human society?"

The strength faded from his right hand.

In a somewhat disappointed tone, he asked, "Do I look like a warrior to you?"

"Why dost thou ask? What wouldst thou resemble, save a warrior? Mayhaps thou might be better addressed as a knight?"

"The Wise King of the Forest… well, you've been misnamed. Or rather, everything started going wrong once I discovered you were a giant hamster…"

Indeed, it was hard to think of Ainz as a magic caster in this suit of full plate armor. Still, he had hoped that something with the grand title of Wise King of the Forest would at least have noticed something amiss, or showed some sign that it could see through his disguise.

The Wise King of the Forest must have thought that Ainz's magic immunity was simply resisting the spell through sheer force of will. Granted, special defenses like resistance and immunity were practically the same thing in YGGDRASIL, but at least it should have tried to act like a proper sage.

In the end, it was completely undeserving of the title of "Wise King." Maybe if it had been called a Giant Djungarian Hamster, he would not have held such high hopes. Whoever called him a "Wise King" must have had something wrong with him. It was a mislabelling, false advertising.

Having lost the will to fight, Ainz powerlessly lowered the greatswords in his hands.

"What art thou doing!? Could it possibly be… dost thou intend to yield before the battle is decided? Come at this one with all thy strength! This is a duel to the death!"

The words from the angry Wise King of the Forest chipped away at Ainz's heart. Fortunately, great emotional upheavals were suppressed immediately, so he still had some strength remaining.

"Ok, that's enough Ainz, end this." Karna said with crossed arm and a stern face.

Speaking with a cold, crystal clear voice, Ainz pointed his right-hand greatsword at the Wise King of the Forest and activated his skill.

**[AURA OF DESIRE V]**.

Since its instant death effect was too strong, he decided to reduce its potency and instead activated **[AURA OF DESIRE I]** fear effect.

A cold, soul-chilling vapor gusted out from Ainz

The moment that mass of cold air washed over the Wise King of the Forest, every single one of its hairs stood on end, and it rolled over with surprising speed. All he could see was its silvery fur, and its soft, defenseless belly.

"Craven! This one yields to thee!"

"…Ah… in the end it was just a beast…" karna sign for the hundredth time.

As Karna muttered tiredly in response, Ainz walked over to the Wise King of the Forest, observing its vulnerable belly, and then considered what he should do next.

It's a creature of this world, so chasing it away would be a shame. Sadly, it's just a hamster, so should I raise it as a pet… at the very least, I should make use of its corpse.

One of Ainz's job classes was called Necromancer. It was a class that allowed one to turn a corpse into an undead slave, though the quality of the undead produced depended on the species of the corpse.

The best corpses were those of powerful beings like dragons, while human corpses could become zombies and skeletons. Then, given that the Wise King of the Forest did not exist in YGGDRASIL, what sort of undead would its corpse make?

A Wise King of the Forest Zombie?

"Shall we kill it?" a cheery voice rang out.

Ainz turned, and found that Aura had mysteriously appeared beside Narberal.

"If you kill it, I'd like its hide. It looks like it would make a great pelt…"

Ainz lowered his head and looked straight at the Wise King of the Forest, who was looking at him with moist, tear-filled eyes. Its whiskers twitched as it waited fearfully for its future to be decided.

Just then, he suddenly recalled the words which he had exchanged with the Wise King of the Forest. Ainz recalled the part about friends.

"Ainz-kun you can't kill it!" Jeanne pleadings voice reached Ainz.

'Here we go, her one weakness…' Karna mused.

"It too adorable!" Jeanne ran up to the giant hamster and hugged it with all her might as she buried her face in it soft fur.

Ainz smiled at the sight. Then, with a happy sigh, he made his decision.

"My true name is Ainz Ooal Gown, this is Karna and the one that his hugging you is Jeanne D'arc, If you are willing to serve us, we will spare your life."

"Th-Thank you very much! This one shall offer absolute fealty to thee for the gift of this one's life! The life of the Wise King of the Forest shall be an offering to the great Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, Lord Karna And Lady Jeanne!"

Aura looked at the Wise King of the Forest, who had been released from Jeanne hugged and was now jumped up and was frantically pledging its loyalty. There seemed to be something like regret in Aura's eyes.

Once they left the forest, they encountered the others, who rejoiced that Ainz and his team were both unharmed. Only Lukrut seemed to have his doubts.

In a tone that combined surprise and praise, Nfirea asked:

"You're unhurt… Did you guys avoid fighting?"

Just as Ainz was about to answer, Lukrut cut in:

"Momon-san, what did you bring back? Were you charmed by something?"

"We battled the Wise King of the Forest, and tamed it. Oi, come out." Karna turn his head in the direction of the hamster.

They could all see the pearly-white fur of the Wise King of the Forest as it emerged from the trees. The Swords of Darkness gathered around Nfirea, shocked expressions on their faces as they all took a step back with weapons raised.

Well, it's huge, even if it's a Djungarian Hamster…

Though it had cute round eyes, its massive body was still a fearsome sight, and it was only natural that these adventurers should be wary on behalf of the client they were escorting. With that in mind, Jeanne decided to calmly say:

"Be at ease, everyone. we have subdued it, so it will not lash out wildly and hurt people."

Then, she approached the Wise King of the Forest, and made a show of patting its furry body.

"It is as malady says; this Wise King of the Forest is loyal to it masters, and is now it masters faithful servant. This one swears to it master that this one will not inconvenience thee, fine gentlemen!"

In this way, the Wise King of the Forest displayed its loyalty to the three supreme beings.

Perhaps they were on guard because of its vast size, but since it was a cute Djungarian Hamster to begin with, they would probably stop being on edge once they got used to it. The problem was how to make everyone think it was the true Wise King of the Forest. That was the only thing Ainz had no idea how to accomplish.

And then, things developed in a completely unexpected direction.

"…So this is the Wise King of the Forest! Unbelievable! What a majestic beast!"

'...WHAT…!?' Ainz and Karna yield mentally.

Ainz and Karna looked back and forth between Ninya and the Wise King of the Forest, checking to see if Ninya was making fun of him, but Ninya seemed to be entirely serious.

"…Wow, the Wise King of the Forest… so the legends really were true! I can feel its mighty presence just standing before it!" Dyne gasped.

'...you gotta be kidding… MIGHT PRESENT MY ASS!' Karna yield mentally.

"Uwah, that's pretty awesome. You actually pulled it off. Someone as strong as you is certainly qualified to have Nabe-chan at his side."

"If we had encountered him, we would have been killed for sure. I expected nothing less of you guys. Amazing work."

As Lukrut, Peter, and the others showered him in praise, Ainz looked to the Wise King of the Forest again.

A giant Djungarian Hamster.

It did not remind him of anything else. Why were they so intimidated by a beast like this?

"…Everyone, do you not think this creature's eyes are very cute?"

Their eyes went wide as they heard those words, as though their eyeballs were about to fall out. It would seem that statement was quite absurd.

"Mo-Momon-san, do you think this beast's eyes are cute?"

Of course. After mocking the reply in his heart, Ainz magnanimously nodded, and then he began to wonder if the Wise King of the Forest had used a passive charm skill.

"Unbelievable, that's Momon-san for you. Ninya, you looked into its eyes, what do you think ?"

"…They are eyes filled with wisdom, and I could feel the power of this beast. There's no way it could be cute by any stretch of the word."

"…!?"

``I-I don't even know the world anymore…'

Karna looked dumbfoundedly at the others. After realizing that they shared Ninya's opinion, Karna felt his head spin for a moment.

"How about you, Nabe?"

"Actual strength aside, those are powerful-looking eyes."

…No… way… seriously…!?

They were all gushing praise with sparkly eyes. In other words, they were in awe of Ainz for being able to nonchalantly call the eyes of such a beast "cute."

Ainz kept glancing back at the Wise King of the Forest, but there was no way he could see anything approaching "wisdom" in them.

Could it be that my aesthetic sense changed as well after becoming undead?

Since nobody apart from himself felt that way, it was quite likely that such a change had taken place. However, it was probably best to make absolutely sure.

"By the way, does everyone think rats are strong?"

"Rats… giant rats? Monsters like that aren't anything special."

"You can find them in the sewers of E-Rantel."

"Giant rats carry nasty diseases. Wererats too… hmm, since wererats can resist damage made from everything except silver weapons, would they qualify as strong?"

Don't hamsters look like rats? And the Wise King of the Forest has a very long tail… it's more like a rat than a hamster…

A puzzled Karna came to a conclusion. In other words, "This world is weird."

Just as Karna was agonizing over trivial matters like the differences between this world and the previous one, Nfirea asked in a worried tone of voice:

"But if you take this monster away, and thus its sphere of influence, won't the other monsters attack En… Carne Village because it's not there to scare it off any more?"

Karna raised his chin to indicate the Wise King of the Forest. It got the message, and said:

"By village you mean… ah, well, the balance of power in the forest is now in chaos. Even if this one was there, this one would not be able to guarantee their safety by any means."

"No way…"

Karna did not comfort the shocked Nfirea. He merely smiled inside.

The Wise King of the Forest is hardly a fitting name, let's see what I can get out of this.

Just as Karna was thinking about how to guide the conversation, he could feel Nfirea looking at him. He seemed to be wavering between speaking and keeping quiet, and his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

Karna understood the turmoil in Nfirea's heart. On one hand, he must have wanted him and his friends to save the village once more. On the other, Nfirea probably felt that it was too troublesome, and did not want to leave everything to them.

As the Swords of Darkness discussed how to save the village, Nfirea made up his mind and addressed Ainz with a serious look on his face.

"Hey Siegfried."

"Yes?"

A secretly delighted Karna waited for what Nfirea would say next.

The truth was that Ainz had always intended to protect Carne Village, which was highly valuable as a source of information. However, the important thing was whether he could profit from it. Since he could frame the thing as doing a favor for Nfirea and thus make Nfirea indebted to him, it was like killing two birds with one stone. This was Ainz's plan in order to make up for the miscalculation with the Wise King of the Forest.

However, Nfirea's words vastly exceeded Ainz's expectations.

"I beg of you! Please let me join your team!"

"Hah!?"

"I want to protect Enri… Carne Village, but I don't have the strength to do it now. So I want to become stronger! I want to learn the secret to your strength, Momon-san! I don't mind if it's just a little bit! However, I can't hire an excellent adventurer like you on a long-term basis with the amount of money I have! So please, let me join your party! I have some confidence in my ability as an herbalist, but I'm willing to carry luggage and do other menial labor! Please allow me to do this, I beg you!"

Just as Ainz was blinking his non-existent eyelids, Nfirea continued:

"I've always been researching herbological knowledge. I didn't give that decision much thought because my grandmother and father were both herbalists… but now I've found the path I want to walk, and it's not as a herbalist."

"So, you want to become a great magic caster and protect Carne Village, then?" Karna asked.

"Yes!"

Nfirea seemed to have shed his youthful attitude, and looked straight at Ainz, his eyes filled with a manly resolve.

In YGGDRASIL, there had been an endless stream of applicants seeking to join the guild Ainz Ooal Gown. Most of them wanted to do so for personal gain, thinking that they would profit from joining one of the highest ranked guilds in the game. They did not think of what they could do for the guild, but what the guild could do for them.

In addition, there were those who wanted to infiltrate the guild to steal its information and rare items.

Because of this, Ainz Ooal Gown did not increase its numbers much beyond its founding members. They were careful not to let their hard work and effort be trampled by others.

Still, this was the simple, pure desire of a man who knew nothing of the guild called Ainz Ooal Gown. His misguided way of thinking was quite refreshing.

"…Ha, hahaha!"

Ainz and Karna laughed long and loud. Their laughter was light and buoyant. Then, when they were done, Ainz removed his helmet and bowed deeply.

He could hear Narberal taking a deep breath in the background.

Actions like this did not fit Narberal's master, the Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Still, Ainz felt that he had to do this, without any hesitation about whether it was right or proper. He did not feel that bowing to a young man who was only half his age was shameful.

There was no malice in Ainz's laughter, but Ainz now knew he should not have done so. He raised his head to face the surprised Nfirea:

"…Forgive me for my laughter. That was a mistake on my part. But I would like you to understand that I was not laughing at your determination. In order to join my team, you must meet two criteria. At the moment, you have only met one of them. Therefore, I am sorry, but I cannot let you join."

The hidden condition was that more than half of the present guild members had to approve of the prospective member. Therefore, even if Ainz and his fro agreed, he could not add members to the guild on his own. However, Ainz was pleased by the loyalty which the Guardians of Nazarick had shown him after coming to this world, and in a good mood, he continued:

"I understand how you feel, and I will remember that you wished to join my team. As for protecting this village, I will exert all my power to aid you. However, I might need your help—"

"Yes! Please, I'm eager to help!"

"Is that so, is that so…"

As Ainz was nodding, he met Nfirea gaze. He seemed to be enjoying the show, which made Ainz feel a little embarrassed.

"Then, we'll discuss that matter later. Before that, I have an interesting story to tell everyone about the taming of the Wise King of the Forest."

—-

By the time that the sword of darkness and Ainz team return to the city, it was already night time.

"We're gonna escort Nfirea to his shops and help him unpack his stuff, should we wait for you?"

"No go on ahead, once we register his magic creature with the guild, we'll catch up with guys" Karna said.

"I'd never had a hall this plentiful before, I'll make sure to add extra to your payment" Nfirea happily said.

"All this is possible because of my masters strength, so don't you forget that" the wise king said.

"Well we'll see you guys soon"

"Oh my lovely Nabe, though I know we'll only be apart for a short while, it will feel like an eternity, please be strong my love!" Lukurt dramatic said.

"…die" Narberal whispered.

"Come on keep moving" Dyne smack Lukurt.

"See you later"

—-—-—

As Ainz and his friends continue on their way to guild, they were repeatedly met with amazed and curious gaze of the townsfolk.

'Does this count as public humiliation…?'

'Our reputation, pride and dignity are ruin…' Karna said.

'And after all of that hard work…' Jeanne mentally shed sad tears.

'We look like an old people riding a merry go round, instead of a monster slaying heros, this so embarrassing!' The three supreme being cried in shame as all three rode on the wise king of the forest backs. They strongly refused at first but with the ever persistent Narberal at their side, she was able to convince all three to ride on the giant hamster backs with her reasoning being being "supreme ones shouldn't be trouble with walking". It was the most embarrassing and regretful decision the three supreme beings had ever made.

'I don't want this to be in our persona's legend…' karna said.

Ainz looked down at the pearly white fur of the humaster.

'I should be able to take pride in this...right…?'

'Don't worry Ainz, we are also suffering alongside you…' Jeanne reassured.

'If I didn't know any better, I would think someone was trying to set us up and arranged this' said an angry Karna.

The townsfolk began to gather see the four adventurers off with small cheer and applaud.

'Could it be our aesthetic sense is at fault, or that they have weird taste, or is it that this world sense of aesthetics is completely messed up?'

'Well to these people, this creature is a legendary monster and look on the brightsides, this could improve our reputation, so this is a necessary sacrifice, no matter how embarrassing it is' jeanne said trying to lighten the mood.

'Still, this is basically shame play!' Ainz wince.

'For us yes, for you no, thank to your emotion suppression' Karna said with jealousy clearly present in his voice.

'So does this mean im immune to shame play...don't tell me im a masochist...thought i'd always feel that i was more on the sadist side…'

'Lets just leave this topic aside, so what should we name it?' Jeanne said as she lightly pet the hamster back.

'Hem, donuts, no hamsuke!'

'That the first good name you came up with'

'Hey!'

'Oh be like that, you have a horrible sense of name things'

Before Ainz could counter Karna continued.

'If you need further proof, you just remove the ga in Momonga for your adventurer name'

'...'

'That enough Karna-kun, stop bullying Ainz-kun' Jeanne jump in.

Registering Hamsuke itself was simple enough, but it took about one and a half hours. The most time-consuming part of the process was sketching an identification picture of Hamsuke by hand. While magic could have sped up the process, Ainz did not want to go to the extra expense of paying for a spell, which had led to this situation.

Ainz had to make up an excuse in order to avoid being labelled as petty.

"Although it's a little late to mention this, the whole 'I'm interested in drawing' excuse is getting old… Ah, forget it. Let's go over now," Ainz said to his friends as he finished the registration, before he headed toward Hamsuke.

He had become used to it.

Since the merry-go-round was not the exclusive domain of the rich — or people with lovers or family — then it made no difference if a lonely older man rode it.

Having given up on themselves, there was no hesitation in any of the supreme ones movements.

Except Karna, who refuse to get on.

"Come on"

"Aren't you gonna get on?"

"**No**"

"Huh fine walk then…"

"I'm ashamed to call you my friend…"

"Don't be like that" Jeanne said.

Using their superior athletic ability, Ainz and Jeanne mounted the Wise King of the Forest with a masterful vault. If they were an athlete, their name would have gone down in the history books. They did not have a saddle or reins, but several hours of experience was enough for them to learn how to skillfully mount up.

The pedestrians were gasping in awe as far as his eyes could see. He could even hear the sounds of women screaming in excitement. In particular, he felt the piercing gazes of his fellow adventurers burning into him. After seeing the copper plate around Ainz's and Jeanne neck, their eyes went wide with disbelief.

I'm the one who should have a hard time believing this. What's wrong with your sense of aesthetics?

Just then, a voice called out to Ainz, interrupting the foolish questions in his heart and the process of ordering Hamsuke to move out.

"Say, would you be the people who went herb-picking with my grandson?"

The voice was an aged one. When he turned to look, he found an old granny.

"…And who might you be?" Karna asked.

He asked that, but Karna could guess at the answer. If this granny's words were genuine, then there could be only one answer to that question.

"My name is Lizzie Bareare. I'm Nfirea's grandmother."

"Ah! So it really was you? That's right, we are one of two teams of adventurers who escorted your grandson to Carne Village. My name is Siegfried, and this is Momon, Artoria and Nabe."

Lizzie smiled to the bowing Narberal:

"Well you two are lucky to two unbelievably beautiful women. And what is the name of the creature that those two are riding?"

"It is the Wise King of Forest, Hamsuke."

"This one is Hamsuke! This one is very pleased to meet you!"

"What!? This mighty beast is the legendary Wise King of the Forest!?"

The adventurers around them who heard Lizzie's cry were even more surprised. With shocked looks on their faces, they whispered, "Is that really the monster of legends?" and so on.

"Indeed. After receiving your grandson's request, we encountered it at our destination and I managed to tame it." Ainz said.

"You actually… tamed the Wise King of the Forest…"

Lizzie was dumbstruck and could do nothing but stare.

"Then… where is my grandson now?"

"Ah, he went home first with the herbs. We're heading over there now to collect our payment." Jeanne answered.

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at them with a strange look in her eyes:

"Oh, I see… then, shall we go together? I'm quite interested in you adventurer types."

To them, Lizzie's suggestion was like a life preserver to a drowning man.

"Ah, the pleasure was all ours."

The group proceeded through the streets of E-Rantel, led by Lizzie.

"Then, please come in."

Once they reached the storefront, Lizzie came to the front door and took out her keys. Then, she looked down, and pushed. The door swung open, without any resistance.

"What's this? This is too careless of him."

Lizzie muttered to herself as she entered the shop. Ainz and his friends followed her.

"Nfirea, The group of adventurer you travel with is here t—"

Lizzie's voice echoed through the shop, but it was silent. It felt as though there was nobody there.

"What happened?"

Lizzie was filled with confusion. Karna, on the other hand, replied curtly:

"Trouble."

Lizzie heard, but did not understand. Karna paid her no heed, but instead placed his hands on the hilts of his katana. Ainz and Jeanne figured out what he was up to from that action and they drew their weapons as well.

"What, what are you doing!?"

"Don't ask, just follow."

With that clipped answer, Karna drew his weapons and entered the store. He kicked the door open and kept to the right as he went in. Thought this was a stranger's house, completely unfamiliar to him, there was no trace of hesitation in Karna footsteps.

They came to a door which led down, and then Karna turned to Lizzie, who had just caught up with them:

"What is this place?"

"This, this is the herb storage room, it leads to the back door."

Although she was not sure what was going on, Lizzie sensed that something was wrong and began to worry. However, Karna ignored her and pushed the door open.

What he smelled was not the scent of herbs, but a more acrid odour — the stench of blood.

"...no…" Jeanne low voice broke through the small and short silent that hung in the air.

The first people they saw were Peter and Lukrut. Dyne was a bit further beyond. Ninya was all the way inside the room. All of them were slumped against the walls. Their legs stuck forward and their arms drooped down lifelessly. They seemed to have lost all the blood in their bodies, which was now clotted on the ground so thickly that it looked black.

"This, what is this…"

A shocked Lizzie made to enter with shaky footsteps. Ainz put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving forward, and quickened his pace to get ahead of all of them.

Just then, the fallen Peter suddenly jerked like a puppet. However, before he could get up, the greatsword flashed across him.

Peter's head rolled to the ground.

With the blade in hand Karna rush in and decapitated Lukrut, who was halfway through standing up.

Just as Lizzie managed to process the shock of the tragedy before her, Dyne, who was somewhat further inside, had already risen to his feet.

The face which raised itself was not a living one. There was no color in it and its eyes were clouded. There was a hole in its forehead, instantly recognizable as a fatal injury.

There was only one reason why a dead man would move again — because he was undead.

"Zombie!"

Just as Lizzie cried out, Dyne groaned menacingly and lunged at them. Ainz immediately thrust his greatsword at Dyne. His throat pierced, Dyne's head shuddered and then he collapsed.

Nobody else moved.

Amidst the silence, Jeanne stared at the unmoving Ninya with sadness and pity.

"Nfirea!"

Lizzie finally realized what was going on, and began looking for her grandson. Jeanne narrowed her eyes at her receding back, and gave Narberal an order.

"Protect her. My passive skill **[Unholy Detection] **isn't giving me any reactions, so there shouldn't be any more undead in the house. But there might be living people inside."

"Understood."

After a quick nod of her head, Narberal broke into a sprint to catch up with Lizzie.

Once he made sure that the two of them were gone, everyone looked toward Ninya again. Jeanne kneeled slowly before him, and then gently touched the body. Once she was sure that there were none of the usual corpse boobytraps found in YGGDRASIL, she raised Ninya's face. Of course, he was not unconscious, but dead.

He must have been beaten by some sort of blunt object, given how his cheeks were bloated up like pomegranates. If they did not know it was Ninya, they might not have recognized the corpse at all.

"His left eye was crushed, and the vitreous humor had flowed out. It looked like he was crying" Jeanne low voice broke through another silent as she gave her analysis of Ninya states.

"The bones of his fingers were completely pulverized. The skin was split open, revealing the red muscle underneath. In some places, there was no muscle at all" Jeanne pulled open Ninya's clothes, and her eyes went wide in surprise.

He closed up the garment, and muttered:

"…So even the body was…"

Much like the face, the body bore signs of a brutal beating. It was covered in bruises of internal bleeding, and it would be harder to find a patch of uninjured flesh than the other way around.

Jeanne gently closed Ninya's eyes.

"…This is… disgusting." She growled in anger, which stunned Ainz and Karna. They had never seen her like before, even in IRL she was usually the most calm and gentle of three, so seeing her shake in rage like this was very shocking.

The sound of her murmurs faded into the air.

"My grandson! Nfirea's gone!"

Lizzie returned, shouting at the top of her voice Karna had gathered all the corpses into a corner of the room, and calmly replied:

"I checked their gear. None of them were searched. That being the case, the opposition must have intended to kidnap Nfirea."

"Oh!"

"Come see this." Ainz said.

Ainz pointed to the letters written in blood under Ninya's corpse. They would not be visible unless someone moved them.

"This is… the sewers? Does it mean he was taken to the sewers?"

"…It might be a trap set by the person who did this, and I have no idea how big the sewers are… searching for them might take a long time. What do you think?"

"There's numbers there, 2-8, what could that mean?"

"Those are even more suspicious. Although I don't know what those numbers mean… but I can guess that you can divide the city into eight sections, or it might just be a simple 2-8… although, did Ninya really have the time to think of all that? Even if Ninya did write it, how much could he have learned from the enemy? This is far too much of a coincidence."

Lizzie frowned her already wrinkled face, directing something that approached anger at them, who was analyzing the entire situation with unexpected calmness. Then she looked at the four corpses on the ground.

"Who are these people?"

"…They were the adventurers your son hired, who went with us. After we parted ways, they should have come to help him unload the herbs." Karna voice was still as calm as before.

"What!? Then they're your comrades, aren't they?"

Ainz shook his head:

"No, we barely knew them, we just happened to be adventuring together."

His cold words chilled Lizzie to the bone, and she had no desire to pursue the matter further.

"Come to think of it, I've been thinking about their corpses, but I'd like your opinion. What do you think about them being turned into Zombies?"

"…「Create Undead」. That means the enemy has someone who can use at least third tier magic. I don't know anything else apart from that."

"I think we need to think of something quickly."

"Isn't that obvious… what do you mean by that?"

"…The enemy could have used mind control or hidden the corpses, but they did not do that at all. They seemed to have done it for fun. Otherwise, they did it because they were absolutely sure they would not be exposed, or that they were completely confident in their ability to escape. Hm… I don't know which of them it was. Since they could make Zombies, they could have brought the corpses back with them, right?"

If they wanted to kidnap Nfirea, all they would have to do was hide the bodies, which would have bought them enough time to escape. However, the enemy did not do that, which meant that they had other things to do, or because they wanted Lizzie to do something.

The latter was easier to deal with. It was the former which was tricky. Nfirea's life and talent were valuable, but they might not be able to use them for long. Would these cruel people who could kill without blinking an eye let him live after using him up?

After Lizzie realised the meaning hidden in Ainz's words, her gray face turned white. With no idea where he had been taken in this gigantic city, they would need to search the whole of E-Rantel, which would take far too long.

Their only clue was the sewers, but the three had their doubts about it.

The flame of Nfirea's life was ebbing away with each passing moment.

Ainz looked at his friends and calmly turned to the panicked Lizzie and asked:

"How about hiring us?"

The cold voice continued:

"Isn't this something you should hire an adventurer for?"

A light came on in Lizzie's eyes as she understood what Ainz was getting at.

"You are a very lucky woman, Lizzie Bareare. At the moment, we are the strongest adventurer in this city, and the only people who can save your grandson's life. If you hire us, I will accept your request. However… the price will be very high, because we are fully aware of how troublesome this task might be."

"That, that's right… if it was you… the one who possessed that potion… and with the Wise King of the Forest… then there's no doubt about your strength… I'll hire, I'll hire you!"

"Is that so… are you prepared to pay a high price for this?" Karna asked.

"How much will it take to satisfy you?"

"—Everything."

"What?"

"Give us everything you have."

Lizzie's eyes widened in shock, and her body trembled violently.

"Everything you have. When we safely return Nfirea to you, give us everything you have."

"You…"

Backing away in fear, Lizzie muttered:

"When you say everything… you don't mean money or rare potions… I've heard that demons will grant any wish in return for men's souls. Are you people demons?"

"…And what if we are? Do you want to save your grandson?"

Lizzie did not respond, silently biting her lip.

"Then there's only one answer, right?"

"Umu… I'll hire you. I'll give you everything I have, so please save my grandson!"

"Very well, the pact is sealed. Then, let's not waste time. Do you have a map of this city? If you do, lend it to me."

Lizzie had her doubts, but she still handed the map to Ainz immediately.

"Then, we shall find Nfirea's location next."

"Can you do such a thing!?"

"Only this time. Just this one time, I can. I don't know if the enemy was stupid or…"

As Ainz's voice trailed off halfway, he turned to look at the four corpses resting within the room.

"Then, I shall begin the search. Go look in the other rooms and see if the people who kidnapped Nfirea left any clues behind. If kidnapping Nfirea was itself a distraction, that would make things troublesome. You're familiar with this home, so you're better suited to this."

After thinking up a reason to get Lizzie out of the room, Ainz turned to his friends.

"...Was that really necessary…" Jeanne asked.

"...it was a little cruel but it was necessary…" Karna said grimly as he approach the sword of darkness body and began to Chaco for anything of note.

"May I ask what you intend now my lords?" Narberal asked.

"Simple. Look, their adventurer's plates are all missing, probably taken by the person who attacked this place. The question now is why they didn't take anything more valuable, but these plates… what do you think?"

"My apologies, but I have no idea." Narberal repled.

"Hem, trophy perhaps" Jeanne guessed.

"That could be it, and lucky us because—"

Halfway through, a voice spoke in all of their minds. It was the **[MESSAGE] **spell.

'My lord'

The voice was somewhat high-pitched, and there was something like rustling in the background.

"Is that you, Entoma?" Karna answer.

'Yes, it is me.'

It was Entoma Vasilisa Zeta. She was a member of the Pleiades, like Narberal.

'I have a report to deliver'

"—I'm busy now. I'll contact you again when I'm free."

'Understood. Please contact Albedo-sama as soon as possible'

The spell ended, and Karna continued.

"Lucky us because this was a fatal mistake made by the killer, Narberal, use these scrolls."

Karna walk back and pulled a scroll from his Infinite storage and handed it to Narberal.

"This is the scroll of 「Locate Object」. I trust I don't have to tell you what to look for?"

"Understood."

With that acknowledgement, Narberal opened the scroll. Just as she was about to activate it, Ainz grabbed her hand and coldly rebuked Narberal:

"…Idiot."

Narberal's shoulder shuddered as Ainz scolded her.

"My, my apologies!"

"When using divination-type magic, you need to prepare yourself thoroughly against the enemy's counter-detection spells before casting it. This is an ironclad rule. When considering that the opposition might use 「Detect Locate」, it's a basic precaution to use 「False Cover」, 「Counter Detect」, and the like to protect yourself. Also—"

Karna prepared about ten more scrolls, and Ainz explained the function of each one to Narberal like a teacher.

When using magic to collect information, one had to protect oneself. This was basic knowledge.

When Ainz Ooal Gown PKed, they gathered as much information on the opposition as possible and then launched an ambush to swiftly decide the matter. Simply put, "the battle is over before it begins," as stated by the guild member Punitto Moe in the text named "PKing for Dummies."

Therefore, Ainz was now teaching these skills to Narberal, so they would have the advantage if they encountered other players in the future.

'Strange I could've sworn I heard those exact words from Punitto Moe books, did he… no that would be stupid…' Karna thought trailed off.

"—That's basically it. The fact is, you still need to use skills to improve the effectiveness of your spells and defend yourself, but I don't think we need to prepare so much against our enemy this time. After all, if the opposition was a magic caster who knew more spells to deal with the enemy, they wouldn't have simply cast that level of spells on the corpses. Then, begin, Narberal."

A relieved Narberal carefully opened a scroll and recited the name of the spell inscribed upon it.

A heatless blue flame engulfed the scroll, consuming it within seconds and releasing the magic locked within.

She did the same with all the other scrolls, and only after sheathing herself in countless protective spells did she finally cast 「Locate Object」. After that, she pointed to a location on the map:

"There."

Ainz could not understand the characters, and racked his brains for some clue as to where "there" was.

"…The graveyard, huh. As I thought, it wasn't the sewers after all."

E-Rantel was also a military base, and the graveyard was massive, almost the largest of its size. The spell pointed to the deepest reaches of the graveyard.

"I see. Then, use 「Clairvoyance」 next. Combine it with 「Crystal Monitor」 so we can see as well." Karna orders.

Narberal activated the scrolls once more, and the image floating in mid-air revealed countless human shapes. However, their movements were oddly stiff. In addition, there were many inhuman objects within the image.

There was a boy in their midst. He was dressed strangely, but there was no mistake about him.

"So he's definitely there. And the metal plates should be nearby… hm, a big mass of undead?"

There was a group of undead around Nfirea. They were all low tier undead, but they were present in surprising numbers.

"…What do you plan to do? Teleport in and wipe them all out at once? Or perhaps use flight magic to attack them from above?"

"Don't be silly. Wouldn't either of those methods mean that the problem gets solved without anyone knowing about it?" Ainz answers coldly.

Seeing that Narberal had no idea of what he was talking about, Ainz continued his explanation:

"Whoever created all these undead must have done so in preparation for something of earthshaking proportions. Therefore, if we save Nfirea and deal with that matter at the same time, it will greatly boost our reputations. If we do this on the quiet, we will only receive Lizzie's payment, and we won't be able to gain much fame from it."

That said, if they did not take care of the situation quickly, there was a high chance that Nfirea might die. Even Ainz could not summon this many undead and control them, so there must have been some sort of trick at work here. Nfirea's life might well be an important part of that trick.

That said, he wanted to know the secret of that trick, even if it cost Nfirea's life.

The most important thing to them was how to strengthen the Great Tomb of Nazarick. If they could do so by sacrificing Nfirea, then they would gladly pay that price.

"I'd like to collect more information, but our preparations and time won't allow it," Ainz muttered as he approached the door. After opening it, he shouted:

"Lizzie! We're ready. We're heading to the graveyard now!"

"What about the sewers?"

Lizzie's voice came from far away, accompanied by the patapata of her running footsteps.

"The sewer is just a red herring which the author of this tragedy left for us. They're actually in the graveyard, together with an army of undead. There's easily thousands of them there."

"What!?"

Of course it was an estimate. How could he have counted all of them?

"No need to be shocked. We intend to cut a path through them. The problem is that we can't guarantee that undead army won't escape from the graveyard. You need to tell as many people as possible to hold the undead back if they see them spilling out. There's no proof, but I'm sure that a lot of people will be willing to listen to a big name like you. If the undead ran wild and there was nobody stopping them… that would be troublesome, no?"

Ainz's face twisted under his helmet.

If I don't make a grand spectacle of this, it'll be a pain. The more I heat this up, the more fame I'll earn when I solve the problem. That's why I'm doing this, after all.

"That's all I have to say. Time is tight, so I'll be heading over right now."

"Do you have a way to break through that army of the dead?"

Ainz looked quietly at Lizzie, and then pointed to the greatswords on his back.

"Don't you see it right here?"

—-

There was a place which occupied roughly a quarter of E-Rantel's outer ring, which was also most of the western quadrant. It was E-Rantel's communal cemetery. While other cities had their own graveyards, none of them were as big as this one.

This was in order to suppress the spawning of the undead.

Although many things were unclear about the spontaneous genesis of the undead, the basic idea was that vile creatures frequently spawned from the places where the living came to an end. Of these, people who died sudden, violent deaths and the dead who were not properly revered had the highest chance of coming back to unlife. Therefore, battlefields and ruins tended to be infested by the undead.

Since E-Rantel was very close to the Empire and consequently its battlefields, it required a huge graveyard — a place where remains could receive the proper veneration.

In this aspect, the neighboring country — the Empire — also adhered to their common agreement to respect the dead. Though they slaughtered each other, they both saw the undead that attacked the living as their common enemy.

In addition, there was another problem with the undead. If left unattended, the undead spawned more powerful undead. This was why the city guards and adventurers patrolled the graveyards day and night to exterminate the weaker undead as soon as possible.

A wall surrounded the graveyard. This wall was the boundary between the living and dead. While it was only four meters tall and could not compare to the city walls, it was wide enough for people to walk on top of it. The large doors set into its side were sturdy and could not be easily breached.

All this was in order to ward against the undead that spawned in the graveyard.

There were staircases to the left and right of the doors, and watchtowers along the length of the wall. The guards took turns observing the graveyard below them as they yawned from the watchtowers, in shifts of five men at a time.

The graveyard was lined with sconces enchanted with 「Continual Light」 spells, so there was ample illumination despite it being nighttime. Still, there were many shadowy places, and visibility was even worse in those places blocked by tombstones.

A spear-wielding guard absentmindedly looked out to the graveyard, and said to his yawning colleague:

"Tonight's quite peaceful too."

"Yup, there were only five Skeletons earlier, right? That seems a lot less compared to the past."

"Hm, could it be the souls of the dead were called back by the Four Gods? That would be pretty lucky for us if it were true."

The other guards were drawn in by the topic, and began speaking up:

"Well, if it's just Skeletons and Zombies we can deal with them. Still, it's a pain to take out Skeletons with a spear."

"I think the most troublesome ones are the Wights."

"For me it's the Skeleton Centipedes. I'd be dead by now if the adventurers standing guard nearby didn't chase them away from me."

"Skeleton Centipedes? I heard that the powerful undead only show up when you let the weak ones get away. So all you need to do is kill them all when they're weak and the strong undead won't appear."

"Yes, that's right. The captain chewed out the squad patrolling the graveyard last week. While it's nice to have them buy a round for us, I'd rather not have to go through that sort of thing again."

"Still… when I think about it, I've got a bad feeling about the lack of undead right now."

"…Why's that?"

"Ah, I just feel like we might have missed something out during our watches."

"You're thinking too much. There aren't that many undead normally. They say that they only pop up frequently when they bury the corpses of the people who died while fighting the Empire. So on the flip side, this is what happens when there aren't any big wars, right?"

The soldiers nodded to each other in agreement. They had buried human corpses in their own villages, but they had never heard of the undead appearing that often.

"…So that means the Katze Plains must be pretty insane."

"Yeah, didn't they say something about an unimaginably strong undead creature showing up?"

It was a place where the Empire and the Kingdom clashed in fierce battles. It was also a place famous for the proliferation of its undead. Adventurers hired by the Kingdom and Imperial knights would often go there to hunt down the undead. This task was important enough that the Empire and Kingdom's support corps had built small towns nearby to support their personnel.

"I heard—"

A guard who was about to speak suddenly shut his mouth.

Another guard, who felt easy about this, spoke up:

"Oi, don't scare me—":

"Quiet!"

The silent guard looked straight at the graveyard, as though he could see through the darkness. Following this, the other guards turned to look at the graveyard one after the other.

"…Didn't you hear it?"

"Were you imagining things?"

"Though I didn't hear the wind blowing or the grass moving… I think I can smell dirt. Didn't they dig a few graves just now? It smells just like it did then…"

"Come on, don't joke about this sort of thing."

"…Eh? Ah, oi! Look over there!"

One of the guards pointed to the graveyard, and everyone else looked toward the spot he was pointing at.

Two guards were sprinting for the doors. Both of them panted heavily, their eyes bloodshot, and their sweat-slick hair stuck to their foreheads.

A growing sense of dread filled the other guards as they saw this.

Guard patrols in the graveyard moved in groups of at least ten. Why were there only two people here? Judging by the way they had no weapons and were running for dear life, they had panicked and fled.

"Open, open up! Hurry up and open the doors!"

Upon seeing the two men shouting in front of the doors, the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs and let them through.

Before the doors could even swing fully open, the two guards forced their way in. They collapsed to the ground but kept scrabbling on.

"What the hell…"

The two pale-faced guards who had just escaped the graveyard interrupted their questionnaires, panting and shouting:

"Close, close the doors! Quickly!"

This strange behavior sent a chill down the spine of the other guards. Working together, they pushed the doors shut and barred them.

"What happened? What about the others?"

As they heard this question, a haunted look appeared on the guards' frightened faces:

"They, they were eaten by the undead!"

Upon realizing that eight of their fellows had lost their lives, the guards immediately turned to their captain. He immediately ordered:

"…Oi, one of you go upstairs and take a look!"

A guard hurriedly climbed the stairs, but halfway up, he froze in place.

"What, what happened?"

The trembling guard shouted:

"The undead! The undead are everywhere!"

If one listened carefully, they would be able to make out a sound which sounded like ten thousand horses galloping, coming from the other side of the wall. Everyone, not just the guard from just now, were struck dumb by the scene before them.

A massive quantity of undead — so great as to render all who saw it speechless — approached the doors of the graveyard.

"Why, in such numbers…"

"Looks like it's more than one or two hundred… there should be a thousand of them… or more…"

The magical lights illuminated countless undead, like shadows writhing in the dark, and it was difficult to get an exact count.

Wreathed in the scent of rot, the shambling mass of undead pressed in toward the doors like gathering clouds. It was not just Zombies and Skeletons down there; there were also a few rarer and more powerful undead — Ghouls, Ghasts, Wights, Swell Skins, Corrupt Dead, and more.

The guards could not help their shivering.

Because the graveyard was surrounded by a wall, the undead could not attack the common folk as long as the wall held out. However, even if they mobilized all their guards, it was doubtful whether they could fend off such a massive horde of the undead. The guards were essentially normal citizens, and they had no confidence in wiping out these undead.

In addition, some undead could turn their slain victims into others of their own kind. If things went poorly, the guards might end up becoming undead themselves and attacking their fellows. And while they had not seen any flying undead yet, the guards had a bad feeling — that if they did not wipe them all out, a flying undead creature would end up spawning sooner or later.

—The undead tide washed up against the side of the wall.

Doom. Doom.

The swarming, mindless undead had no sense of pain, and banged wildly against the doors. It was as if they knew that they could attack the living if they broke the doors down.

Doom. Doom.

The sounds of repeated pounding and the constant moans of the dead came from the other side of the door.

They did not need siege rams. The undead — who did not care if their bodies were destroyed by their non-stop battering — were siege weapons in their own right.

Cold sweat broke out on the backs of the guards who saw this.

"Ring the bell! Ask for help from the barracks! You two, go inform the other doors about this!"

The captain, who had recovered his senses by now, continued giving orders:

"The ones behind, take your spears and stab the undead getting close to the doors!"

The guards remembered their duty as they heard the orders, and they started thrusting savagely at the undead below them. The undead covered the land like a flood, so any stroke of theirs found a home in undead flesh.

They thrust, withdrew, and thrust again.

Tainted blood spilled over the ground, while the guards' noses were soon inured to the stench of decay. They repeated the same motions over and over again like workers. They killed several undead, which fell to the ground and were trampled to paste by the ones behind them.

Because the undead had little intelligence, they did not strike against the guards stabbing at them with their spears. Repeating the same simple actions eroded the guards' sense of danger.

And then, as though aiming for that moment —

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

A scream pierced the air. As the other guards turned to look, they saw something long and wriggly curled around another guard's neck.

It was a slimy, pink object — an intestine.

The creature that had shot forth this length of intestine was an egg-shaped undead creature, with a huge cavity on the front of its body. Within that cavity were several people's worth of internal organs, churning and wriggling like parasites.

This undead creature was called an Organ Egg.

The writhing intestine pulled at the guard's body.

"Hyaaaaaaa!"

Before his friends could save him, the guard wailed and fell—

"Save, save me! Someone save me! Agyaaaah!"

—His screams filled the air. Every guard saw the terrible fate of their colleague, eaten alive by the throng of undead.

The armor which protected his body and his attempts to protect his face only prolonged his suffering. His fingers, his calves, his face, all of them were picked clean.

"Fall back! Get down from the wall!"

After seeing the Organ Egg's innards twitching, the guard captain ordered a retreat.

All the guards hurriedly ran down the stairs, and they could hear the sounds of the undead banging at the doors getting louder. The doors themselves began groaning under the strain.

The sense of doom grew stronger. The chances of them holding out until help arrived, or that no other strong undead would show up were very low. Once the doors opened, the tide of death would flood in, and only the gods knew how many lives would be lost.

Just as the guards were fully consumed by despair, there was a clattering of metal.

Everyone reflexively looked to the source of the sound.

Before their eyes was a magical beast whose round black eyes gleamed with intelligence, and a warrior in full plate armor. Beside them was a beautiful woman who seemed completely mismatched to the pair.

"O-Oi! This place is very dangerous! Get out of—"

Halfway through the guard's words, he realized that there was a metal plate dangling from the warrior's neck.

An adventurer!

However, that ember of hope was snuffed out when he saw that it was a copper plate. Adventurers of the lowest class could not possibly deliver them from this dilemma. A look of disappointment appeared in the eyes of all the guards present.

The warriors nimbly dismounted their beast. There was no sense of clumsiness in their movements.

"Didn't you hear me? Get out of here now!"

"Nabe, my sword."

The warrior's voice was softer than the guard's shouting, but it was surprisingly resonant even through the clamor of the swarming undead. The beautiful woman approached the warrior, and drew a greatsword from his back.

"Look behind you. It's dangerous, right?" Karna asked the obvious.

The guards turned around in response to the warrior's words, and they looked upon their doom.

They saw a shape which was taller than the four meter high walls.

It was a Necrosome Giant, a gigantic undead creature made of countless corpses.

"Uwaaaaah—"

Just as the guards screamed and prepared to flee, a strange sight appeared before them. The warrior in full plate from just now raised his sword in a javelin-thrower's stance.

What was he doing?

In the next moment, that question vanished like mist in sunlight.

The warrior hurled his sword with unbelievable speed. The guards hurriedly looked where the sword had flown, and there they saw an even more incredible sight.

The Necrosome Giant, that vast, seemingly invincible undead creature, staggered back like it had been hit in the head by an even larger foe, before collapsing to the ground. A thunderous crash provided the proof that the gigantic creature had been knocked down.

"—These undead are in the way."

With that, the adventurer teams drew their weapon and advanced.

"Open up." Karna order.

The guards did not seem to have understood what the warrior said. They blinked several times before they finally managed to parse the warrior's words.

"Don't, don't be foolish! There's a whole crowd of undead on the other side of the door!"

"So? What does that matter to us, Siegfried and Momon?" Karna gestured to himself and Ainz.

Faced by the absolute confidence of the red cloaked adventurer named Siegfried, all of the guards were shaken to the core, and they could not respond.

"…Well, if you won't open up, it can't be helped. We'll just go over there ourselves."

The two warriors broke into a sprint and kicked off the stone floor, vanishing over the other side of the wall. They had leapt over a four meter high wall in a single bound, and while some of them were wearing plate too.

It was a scene that barely seemed real at all.

The guards could not bring themselves to believe the events which had just occurred. Each of them continued staring slack-jawed at the place where the warriors had been.

The two beautiful women floated into the sky from their original position. They looked like they would cross the wall like that, but then a voice halted her:

"A moment please! Please bring this one with you!"

The voice came from the mighty beast which the warrior from just now had ridden here. Its voice was as awe-inspiring as its appearance.

The beautiful black haired girl's brows furrowed slightly — not that it damaged her looks at all — and responded to the beast:

"…Climb the stairs over there. You should still be able to move after falling from a height like this, right?"

"Of course! This one must rush to his master's side! Wait for this one, milord!"

The massive creature shot past the guards and nimbly bounded up the stairs. It hopped over the wall and landed on the other side.

Now all was silence.

They stared with open mouths and stunned eyes for a while, as though a typhoon had just swept past them. The first guard to recover spoke in a voice that trembled uncontrollably:

"Oi… do you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The sounds of the undead."

Even though they strained their ears to listen, they could not hear anything. It was as though a veil of silence had been drawn across the land. The constant sound of the undead pounding on the doors from just now was nowhere to be found.

The frightened guards muttered:

"Oi, did that actually happen? That warrior… there were undead like that, and so many of them, and he broke right through them… went straight ahead."

They were filled with equal parts shock and awe.

The reason why the noise had stopped was because the nearby undead had been drawn away by a new target. Given that the sound still had not returned, it implied that they were still fighting and had not returned.

This unbelievable scenario drew the guards to the top of the walls to satisfy their curiosity. They could not believe what they saw from up there, and they muttered:

"What is this… those warriors… what kind of people are they…"

Countless bodies littered the ground. Mountains of corpses were everywhere, covering the entire graveyard. Although some of the undead hung on to a thread of unlife and struggled weakly to move, all of them had lost the ability to fight.

The smell of decay floated over as they expected, and they heard the sounds of distant battle.

"…No way… they are still fighting? All these undead, strong ones too, and they could actually break through them! Incredible…!"

"Who are these warriors, anyway?"

"…one called himself Siegfried and other one Momon, I think… but calling those people with skills like that a copper plate is too much of a joke. They should be one of those legendary adventurers with an adamantite plate, right?"

The others quietly voiced their approval. People like that could not be a mere copper plate adventurer.

They should be someone who possessed a plate made of the highest ranked of all metals — in other words, a hero.

There was no other possibility.

"We… perhaps we just saw people of legend… warriors… no, dark heroes of the night"

Everyone else could not help but nod in response to that.

—-

When their hand moved, undead were flung left and right. When their swords struck, the undead were cut in two.

Ainz and Karna — tornado of death which killed everything they touched — finally ground to a halt.

"What bothersome pests."

Ainz had recreated his greatswords with magic, and now he held them in their hands. He looked on the undead around him with an exasperated expression on his face, and then pointed a greatsword caked in vile fluids at them.

"Seriously, this getting annoying" Karna commented.

The undead recoiled at this and tried to flee. The undead should not have known the meaning of fear, yet they had come to fear the two warriors of death.

"…This one apologizes deeply for this one's actions…"

The sound came from high above Ainz and Karna. The Wise King of the Forest floated in mid-air, limbs spread. Its whiskers drooped down and its voice sounded equally lifeless.

However, the person who responded was neither Ainz or Karna.

"You… settle down up there. It's hard enough to carry you, stop squirming."

Narberal's voice came from the belly of the Wise King of the Forest. It was not flying, but rather Narberal, who had cast the flight spell on herself, was carrying it. She was halfway buried into the Wise King of the Forest's fur, and Jeanne was fly next to her.

"Narberal, i'll carry him for you"

"NO, my lady you are a supreme being, for a servant like me to make you carry this creature is unforgivable!"

"…well if say so..."

The unintelligent undead had not attacked Ainz nor Karna when they appeared. This was because they could perceive life-force, and they sensed that Ainz was of the same kind as they. Karna on the other hand used an item that made low level undead think of the user as another undead. This item was quite popular for low level players who first started off and had traverse through the land of undead.

With every step Ainz and Karna took forward, the undead took one back. They encircled the two in this way while keeping their distance from them.

This circle moved with the two warriors steps. Although the undead seemed to be looking for a chance to attack, any who stepped forward were immediately destroyed by Ainz and Karna. Therefore, the undead merely surrounded them, but did not make a move on them.

Countless undead had already been annihilated by the two when they carelessly strayed too close to them. Even the mindless undead had learned something from this, which was why they had chosen to surround them.

"Still, if this keeps up, it'll only be a stalemate," Ainz grumbled as he saw the huge throng of undead that still remained.

If he wanted to break the encirclement, he could easily cut a path through the undead horde. However, if he forced his way through, the undead would scatter in all directions and the nearby guards might end up being injured or killed. If that happened, he would lose the witnesses to his deeds, and thus fail the objective of being "the adventurer who cleared up this matter." Therefore, he had to lure the undead to him as he moved forward, in order to ensure the safety of the guards. However, doing so made his forward progress very slow.

And then, Narberal responded in earnest to Ainz's words:

"Should we summon reinforcements from Nazarick? A couple dozen people could annihilate everything in this graveyard that dares stand against you, my lords."

"…Don't be silly. How many times have I told you our objective for coming to this city?"

"But, Lord Ainz, if we wanted to win fame, would it not be better to let the undead surge into the city and cause more casualties first before stepping in?"

"I have considered that possibility as well. If we knew our enemy's aim, this city's fighting power and so on, we might be able to do that. But since we lack information, we need to avoid losing this chance. It would also be very annoying to have to dance to the opposition's tune. In addition, from what I can see, other teams might snatch away our glory first."

"I see… lord Ainz, you are truly incredible. To think your plan was so immaculately conceived; I expected nothing less of our Supreme Ruler. I bow before your superior wisdom once more. Speaking of which… your foolish vassal would like to be enlightened on one point. Would it not be better to send the Eight Edge Assassins, Shadow Demons, and other vassals adept at hiding themselves to observe the situation before a great shift in the circumstances occurs, and then seize the moment when it comes?"

Ainz silently looked at Narberal, who was floating in the air.

The night wind blew softly. Any undead who sought to exploit this perceived weakness would instead be destroyed in one hit by a swing of Ainz's greatswords.

'...Crap, she gotta point…' The three supreme thought.

"Narberal…, if we taught you everything, how would you learn? Figure it out yourself." Karna said.

"Yes! My deepest apologies."

'Thank you business school for teaching me all the ways a manager could use stall tactic' Karna silently gave out a thank.

"However! That said, time is still getting quite tight. It can't be helped, we need to carve a path through them fast."

Jeanne descend from the sky and unleashed her power.

**[Unholy Annihilation]** as that spell was casted a golden cyclone wash over one side of the grave yard. Instead of blowing the undead away it completely turned all of the undead that was caught in it to to turn into ash.

"Then, let's take care of things on this side too." Ainz said as he began to summon a low tier undead.「Create Low Tier Undead: Wraith」 and 「Create Low Tier Undead: Bone Vulture」. After summoning several of them, he ordered:

"Chase away any intruders that enter the graveyard. Killing adventurers is fine, but do not kill the guards."

The Wraiths' bodies shimmered and vanished, and the Bone Vultures spread their wings and flew up. Now that his work was done, Ainz smiled to himself.

The low tier undead were there just in case some adventurers used flight magic to reach the enemy's location and steal the credit for their hard work.

"Now that done, let's go." Karna said as they continue on.

They soon reached the chapel at the heart of the graveyard. Several suspicious-looking fellows were standing in a circle in front of the chapel, apparently conducting some kind of ritual.

They all wore crude black robes which covered their entire bodies, and which varied in both texture and color. Their black head cloths hid their faces and only showed their eyes, while the wooden staves they carried had strange carvings on their ends.

They were short, and by the way they carried themselves, they were probably all men.

The only exposed face belonged to the man in the middle, and he looked like he was undead. He was well-dressed, and seemed to be concentrating on the black stone that he held in his hand.

The wind carried whispered words to Ainz, Karna and Jeanne ears. The voices in the air rose and fell in unison, and it sounded like some sort of chanting. However, it did not sound like a requiem to the dead, but more like some sort of dark ritual which blasphemed against the deceased.

"Should we ambush them?" Jeanne asked. However, Ainz shook his head.

"It wouldn't help. Besides, it seems they've already spotted us."

None of them had any concealment-related skills, so they simply strode directly over to them. Although they could have avoided the lights of the graveyard, all the opposition would need to do was use 「Darkvision」 in order to see as though it were broad daylight. In addition, Ainz had personal experience of the fact that summoned monsters and their Summoners were linked by a mental bond. Since they had defeated so many undead on the way here, they must have known that they was approaching them through their bond.

In fact, there were already several people looking at Ainz and his friends.

Given that they had not launched an attack yet, they might have something to say. Having come to that conclusion, Karna decided to approach them head-on.

As Karna, Ainz, Jeanne and Narberal walked below the magical lights, the suspicious group of people took a stance, and one of them said to the man in the center, "Khazit-sama, they're here."

'All right, idiot confirmed… no, he might have been faking it. First, let's listen to what they have to say' Karna thought.

"Ah… what a lovely night. Don't you think it's wasted on a boring old ritual?" Ainz spoke.

"Hmph… I'll decide whether the time is right for a ritual. Come to think of it, who are you people, anyway? How did you break through that horde of undead?"

The man standing in the center of the circle — his name was Khazit, unless that was an alias, and he was probably the highest ranked of all the people present — asked them that question on behalf of the others.

"We are adventurer on an assignment, looking for a missing young man… we trust you know who I'm talking about, even if I don't state his name?"

The other members of the group took a stance, which confirmed in Ainz's heart that they were not innocents who had been dragged into the matter.

Under his helmet, Ainz smiled bitterly at Khazit, who was looking around the surroundings.

"Just the four of you? Where's the rest of your party?"

'What kind of question is that? Or maybe he's trying to see if there's anyone lying in ambush… still, he should have thought a little before opening his mouth. Based on that, I can be sure he's just a pawn' Ainz concluded.

Ainz tiredly shrugged as he replied:

"Yup, just the four of us. We flew over here with a flight spell."

"You're lying, that's impossible."

Ainz sensed that there was some kind of meaning behind that curt retort. Thus he asked:

"You don't have to believe it, but let's get back to the main topic. If you let the boy returned home safely, I can spare your life. How about it, Khazit?"

Khazit glared at the foolish disciple who had blurted out his name.

"—And you are?"

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask. Is there anyone over there besides you lot?"

Khazit looked coldly at Ainz:

"We're the only ones—"

"—Surely it's not just you? There should be someone with a piercing weapon among you… planning to ambush us? Or are you hiding because you're afraid?" Karna tunt.

"Fufu~ You checked their bodies~ Not bad~"

Suddenly, a female voice rang out from the chapel.

A young woman slowly emerged into the light, and every step she took was accompanied by the clattering of metal against metal.

"You…"

"Ahhh~ they found me out, so there's no point hiding. Speaking of which~ I only hid because I can't use the 「Conceal Life」 spell~"

The woman grinned, in response to the somewhat angered Khazit.

That reply aside, they still haven't trotted out Nfirea as a hostage. Perhaps Nfirea's already dead…

Just as Karna was thinking along those lines, the woman asked:

"May I know your name? Ah, I'm Clementine. Pleased to meetcha~"

"…Well, it's kind of pointless to answer your question, but I guess I'll tell you anyway. My name is Siegfried and this is my partners Momon and Artoria."

"I've never heard these name before… how about you?"

"I haven't heard of it myself — and I've gathered information on all the high ranked adventurers in the city, so how is it I've never heard of a Siegfried, Artoria or Momon among them? Still, how did you know it was here? The dying message pointed to the sewers—"

"The answer is under your cloak. Show me." Ainz demands.

"Uwah~ Pervert~ Lewd~"

As she said that, the girl's — Clementine's — face twisted. She had a grin so wide it nearly reached her ears.

"Ju~st kidding~ you mean these?"

Clementine threw open her coat, revealing what looked like scale mail whose individual plates had mismatched components. However, their excellent vision saw the truth immediately. Those were not the metal plates which made up scale mail.

They were countless adventurer plates. Platinum, gold, silver, iron, copper, even mithril and orichalcum. All these were the proof of all the adventurers Clementine had been killing, the trophies taken from her hunts. Innumerable vengeful groans seemed to haunt the metal plates' clinking.

"It was these prizes of yours which led us to you."

A look of confusion came over Clementine, and Ainz did not intend to explain himself.

"…Nabe, Artoria you two, you two deal with Khazit and the other men. Me and Momon will take care of this woman."

As they separated into team Karna silently warn Narbral to be careful.

"Understood."

Khazit's expression was somewhere between a sneer and a grin. The cold-eyed Narberal, on the other hand, showed nothing on her face and the ever calm Jeanne was the same.

"…Clementine, let's kill each other over there." Ainz said.

Ainz and Karna immediately set out without waiting for Clementine to respond. He was very confident that she would not reject the challenge, and the sound of her lazy footsteps behind them was ample proof of that.

Once they had gotten some distance away, a thunderous, eye-wateringly bright discharge of lightning erupted between Narberal and Khazit. As though on cue, Ainz, Karna and Clementine turned to look at each other.

"Could it be those people I killed in that store were your friends? Are you guys mad because I killed your buddies~?"

Clementine continued in a mocking tone:

"Ufufufu, that magic caster was soooo funny. Until the end he believed that someone would save him~ but how could he hold out that long against my attacks with just that little bit of health… Or could it be he was hoping you would save him? Sor~ry, I killed him."

Clementine was all smiles. Ainz looked at her, and shook his head.

"…No, there's no need to apologize."

"Really? Well that's a shame~ It's fun to piss off those people who get all emotional when their friends come up. Oi, why aren't you getting mad? You're no fun! Or could it be they weren't your friends?"

"…Well, under the right circumstances, I might have done the same thing as you. So blaming you for it would be hypocritical."

Ainz slowly raised his greatswords:

"…Still, they were tools for building my reputation. Once they returned to the inn, they would have spread word of my deeds to the other adventurers. They would have told everyone about how the two of us were heroes who drove off the Wise King of the Forest by ourselves. And now you've gotten in the way of my plans. That greatly displeases me."

Clementine seemed to have sensed something in Ainz's tone, and she laughed uncontrollably:

"Really now~ oh woe is me, to have made you mad~ oh yes, it was a poor decision to fight me~ those pretty girl's are magic caster, right? Then they won't be able to beat Khazi-chan~ though if you two swapped out with them, maybe you could have won. Though those girl couldn't beat me either~"

"Nabe alone would be more than enough for you."

"Don't be silly~ how could one measly little magic caster beat me? It'll be over in two or three blows~ It's always been like that~, and the other girl will be the same"

"I see, so you're that confident in your abilities as a warrior…" Karna mused.

"It goes without saying. No warrior in this country can beat me~ no, wait, almost no warrior in this country can beat me~"

"Is that so… well, that gave me an idea. we'll gave you a handicap, and have our revenge on you at the same time."

Clementine's eyes narrowed, and for the first time she had a look of annoyance on her face.

"According to the info from those chaps in the Windflower, there's only five people in this country who can give me a good fight is, Gazef Stronoff. Gagaran of Blue Rose. Luisenburg Albelion of Red Drop. Brain Unglaus. Also, the retired Vestia Croft Di Lofan… though none of them could beat me even if they went all-out. Not even if I was without the magic items from my country."

Clementine smiled to them. That smile was a disgusting one.

"I don't know what sort of ugly face is under that helmet of yours, and I don't carry how cute the white haired guy is but there's no way that I, The great lady Clementine — one who's left humanity behind and stepped into the realm of heroes — could possibly lose!"

In contrast to the agitated Clementine, Ainz's reply was calm and composed.

"Because of that, we will give you a handicap. Under no circumstance will I use my full strength on you and Siegfried will not get involved in our fight."

—-—-—

"My lady, you do not have to trouble yourself will lowly life form like them, please let me handle it **[Twin Maximize Magic - Electrosphere]**."

Two balls of lightning, each nearly twice the normal size, appeared in Narberal's open palms and shot forth—

—And then they struck.

The electrospheres — their destructive power greatly augmented — expanded rapidly. The electrical pulse that spread from them was huge and lit the graveyard as if it was in broad daylight. The magical lightning vanished as quickly as it had appeared, taking its power with it.

All of Khazit's minions were on the ground.

Only one person remained standing.

"Really… why didn't you fall like those other inferior lifeforms (caterpillars)… Could it be that you cast the 「Energy Immunity - Electricity」 spell?" Narberal asked as she noticed the faint burn marks on Khazit's face.

If those were there, then he should have cast 「Protection Energy - Electricity」, a lower-tiered defensive spell than 「Energy Immunity - Electricity」.

Narberal felt it was a shame that she could not exterminate all the pests in one go, and then she consoled herself with the thought that all this was still within acceptable parameters. After all, it would have been boring to have finished everything off with just one spell.

"You aren't just a regular idiot, but an idiot who can cast third tier spells, aren't you!?"

"…An idiot? An inferior life form (mite) like yourself dares call me an idiot!?"

Narberal wrinkled her eyebrows.

"Anyone who makes a mess of my plans is an idiot. Especially an idiot who doesn't know the meaning of strength and came here to find their death! My preparations are finally complete! Now behold the supreme power of the Orb of Death that has drunk its fill of negative energy!"

Khazit raised the orb in his hand.

It was a fairly rough-looking gem that gleamed like a lump of blackened steel. It had not been polished and it looked more like a lump of ore than anything which had been manufactured. Narberal sensed something like a heartbeat coming from the Orb.

Suddenly, the six disciples of Khazit who had been electrocuted by the 「Electrosphere」 climbed to their feet, but those were not the motions of a living, thinking creature. The six disciples were now under necromantic control, and shakily drew themselves up between Narberal and Khazit. Narberal watched the scene before her with doubt and puzzlement in her eyes.

"These zombies are my opponents?"

"Fuhahahaha, that's right. But they'll be enough for you two! Attack!"

Zombies, being the least among the undead, could not use magic, and as the half-dozen former disciples lunged at her with claws outstretched, Narberal cast a spell on them.

"**[Electrosphere]**."

Once more a white globe shot forth. Where it struck, it generated a pulse of electricity which consumed all the disciples within its radius. The lightning vanished after a moment, and the disciples collapsed to the ground once more. Although she had easily dispatched her enemy, there was no joy on Narberal's face.

「Create Undead」 could not produce multiple undead at once. This must have been the result of Khazit using some sort of support skills.

Narberal turned her gaze to the black sphere in Khazit's hand. It would seem the power of that item extended to letting him control multiple Zombies at once.

Still, this man had some nerve calling an effect like that "supreme power." To Narberal, the rulers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Forty One Supreme Beings who had created her and all her comrades, were the only entities who deserved to be described as "supreme."

Just as unhappiness filled Narberal, Khazit exclaimed in delight.

"That's enough! You've taken in more than enough negative energy!"

The black sphere in Khazit's hand drew the graveyard's darkness into itself, and it seemed to be glowing faintly. The slow heartbeat she felt from earlier seemed stronger than before.

'So I am right, that orb, it an intelligent item, so they even have rare YGGDRASIL item as well?' Jeanne glared at the orb in Khazit hand. 'It would seem that ignoring it would be problematic in the future' she thought.

Having come to that conclusion, Jeanne was about to make a move when she heard something. It was the sound of something whistling through the air, reacting on pure instant, she and Narberal flung herself to the side.

A massive creature rushed past them, and after hovering behind Khazit, it landed on the ground.

It was a composite entity that stood three meters tall, made of countless human bones. It was designed to resemble a being with a very long neck, wings, and four legs — a Dragon. Its tail, also made from innumerable bones, lightly thumped the ground.

This was the monster known as a Skeletal Dragon.

Narberal did not consider monsters of its level strong, but the Skeletal Dragon had a trait which was very dangerous to Nabe.

For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Narberal's face, which then stiffened up.

"Fuhahahaha!"

Khazit's mad laughter echoed through the surroundings.

"Skeletal Dragons and their absolute immunity to magic are a magic caster's worst nightmare, aren't they!?"

If Nabe could not hurt the Skeletal Dragon with magic, then—

"Nabe, let's switch"

Jeanne began to remove her sword from her belt — along with its sheath — and then secured her sword so it would not easily slip out of the sheath.

"If it have absolute immunity to magic, then I'll beat it to death."

Jeanne strode forth.

The Skeletal Dragon swiped its forepaw in response, but Jeanne nimbly evaded its attack. The wind of its passing tossed up Jeanne hair as she rushed in at the Skeletal Dragon's chest.

Then, she concentrated all her strength and swung with all her force.

Her blow sent the three meter tall Skeletal Dragon flying.

Shortly afterwards, it hit the ground with an earth-shaking crash.

"What!?"

Khazit's jaw dropped as he stared.

Skeletal Dragons were made of many smaller bones, and they certainly looked light. However, they only appeared light. Magic casters, who spent their days pursuing greater magic power, should not have had enough strength to pull off a move like that.

Khazit hurriedly fled behind the Skeletal Dragon's vast body, and then he shouted:

"—You, who are you? A mithril… no, an orichalcum ranked adventurer!? There shouldn't be anyone like that in this city; did you pursue Clementine or myself to this place!?"

Khazit grit his teeth in agitation.

Crafting this Skeletal Dragon had required two months of elaborate rituals and an immense quantity of negative energy. How could it be beaten so easily? He had worked and planned many years for this.

Just as Khazit was turning red with rage, the Skeletal Dragon creaked as it slowly got up. There was a massive fissure in the bones which formed its chest, which spilled bone fragments as it moved. It could not take another hit like this.

"No! I won't! I won't let you! 「Ray of Negative Energy」!"

A beam of black light shone extended from Khazit's hand and touched the Skeletal Dragon, quickly healing its injuries with negative energy.

"So it's immune to magic, but it can be healed with magic as well."

Khazit ignored Jeanne and continued casting spells.

"「Reinforce Armor」, 「Lesser Strength」, 「Undead Flame」, 「Shield Wall」."

He cast buff after buff on the Skeletal Dragon.

Now the Skeletal Dragon's bony body was sturdier, stronger, and wreathed in life-draining black fire. It even had an invisible barrier in front of it which acted like a shield.

"Well, if you're doing that, I'll play along." Jeanne body glow several color as she cast her spell.

"「Reinforce Armor」, 「Shield body」"

Jeanne layered defensive spells on herself.

Once both sides had finished buffing themselves, it was as if a bell had gone off and the two of them went at it again.

Jeanne swung her sword.

She landed a forceful hit on the Skeletal Dragon's foreleg, but then Jeanne furrowed her brows.

Although she could easily strike her opposition like she had earlier, this was hardly a good matchup for her. She was not skilled at brute fighter and her weapon was not meant for this type of fight either.

The Skeletal Dragon was made of an assembly of bones, so piercing and slashing weapons did very little damage to it. However, Jeanne did not have bludgeoning weapons, which were ideal for the task, so she had to resort to using her sheath. Although she had the advantage, the poor balance of the improvised weapon meant she could not effectively damage the Skeletal Dragon.

Perhaps a specialized warrior like takemikazuchi or Touch-me might have been able to maintain their balance, but Jeanne was a healer/holy magic caster, though she does have jobs in some Warrior class, she was far from being specialized in it, and hold back 70 level didn't help either.

The Skeletal Dragon's forepaw swiped over the crouching Jeanne. Though it missed her with its kick, the black flames wreathing its limbs washed over Jeanne. However, she resisted them with her always active protection from unholy aura, and the black flames vanished without a trace.

"「Ray of Negative Energy」."

Khazit healed the Skeletal Dragon's wounds with a magic ray.

This was also one of the reasons why Jeanne was frowning. No matter how much damage she did, Khazit the backliner immediately healed it all. She knew she had to attack Khazit first, but the Skeletal Dragon between her and Khazit did not permit her to do so.

**[Lightning] **Narberal renters the fight with a lightning spell.

However the piercing spell was stopped by the Skeletal Dragon's magic immunity. Even the area-effect spell 「Electrosphere」 would also be stopped by Khazit's defensive magic, its damage reduced to insignificance.

"「Charm Person」."

"「Mind of Undeath」."

Narberal and Khazit cast their spells at the same time. Narberal directed a spell which would charm humans at Khazit, while Khazit cast a defensive spell on himself which protected him from mind-affecting spells.

In the end — Khazit smiled triumphantly, while Narberal frowned and clicked her tongue.

Perhaps she had been distracted by Khazit's smile, but a shadow appeared over Narberal's face.

A white object filled Narberal and Jeanne field of vision.

They would be hard-pressed to avoid it.

Jeanne deftly ducked her head and braced the tip of her sword against her shoulder, turning her sword into a shield. The impact spread through her sword arm and the shoulder which took the blow, practically numbing her entire body and tossing Jeanne body into the air.

This was the result of the Skeletal Dragon aiming a tail swipe at her face.

"My lady!."

Though her balance had been broken, Jeanne had not fallen down, her legs skillfully braced against the impact. Still, she had been driven back.

This was a good chance for a follow-up attack, but the Skeletal Dragon remained where it was. Its job was to protect Khazit, and so it could not stray too far from him.

Just then, Khazit poked his head out from behind the Skeletal Dragon—

"「Acid Javelin」."

"「Lightning」." Narberal cast a spell to counter it.

Khazit launched a green, spear-like object that streaked towards Jeanne body. The javelin, which should have dealt her acid damage, stopped several centimeters away from Jeanne body and vanished without a trace. At the same time, the lightning bolt Narberal shot from her fingers was blocked by the Skeletal Dragon's tail and fizzled out.

Khazit and Narberal glared at each other.

"…A defensive spell? How annoying."

"…That should be my line, you inferior life form (bagworm moth). How about coming out from behind there and facing lady Artoria fair and square?"

"And why do I have to come out, I'm not stupid enough to go up against the two of you?"

"Doesn't staying here ruin your plans?"

Khazit knew that Narberal had his number and narrowed his eyes. Narberal smiled nonchalantly.

"…It can't be helped."

After making his decision, Khazit clutched the strange sphere and raised it to the heavens.

"Now behold the power of the Orb of Death!"

The earth trembled, and Narberal's body shook as well. This was a sign that something big was coming.

A massive fissure appeared in the ground, and a white monster slowly revealed itself.

"…Another one." Jeanne mumble.

"Hmph! The negative energy depleted now, but after I kill you two and your friends, I can spread death throughout the city and recover it all!"

Khazit's shouting was angry and emotional, in contrast to the unfazed Narberal.

"Narberal you will take the second one and I'll take the first one"

"Yes."

Narberal forcefully exhaled, then sprinted forward with preternatural speed. Khazit was taken by surprise and could not react in time.

The Skeletal Dragons stomped at Narberal, who had entered their attack range, with their forelegs.

Narberal turned and evaded the stomp of the Skeletal Dragon on her right, but the other one was waiting for her. It swept its tail along the ground, like it was going to scythe the grass.

However Jeanne came in and block it with her sword. As Jeanne block the earthshaking blow from the left, the Skeletal Dragon on the right swiped its forepaw at Narberal as well.

"Guhhh!"

She raised her sword to block the Skeletal Dragon's swipe. Although the paw's crushing pressure was extraordinary, Narberal still stood strong underneath it, and even forced it away. The right-side Skeletal Dragon stumbled several steps back, causing a brief lull in the action.

"…What are you two? Blocking it without martial arts… how did you two learn to do that!?"

"Such a thing is no trouble for a supreme being like lady Artoria, and I was created by the other supreme being even the god of this world couldn't fathom."

"Are you mocking me girl!?"

"Even if you knew the truth, you would never understand, and to think you would dare to call lady Jeanne, one of the Supreme Beings herself, an idiot… this is why I say human beings are inferior lifeforms (planarians)."

Narberal turned a keen glare on Khazit. It was a cold, piercing stare that made him want to back away from her.

The frightened Khazit gave an order, as though to wipe away his fear.

"Skeletal Dragons, get them!"

The Skeletal Dragons kept within range of Khazit and made their move.

Narberal and Jeanne evaded the attack of one of the Skeletal Dragons and moved to close in, and hit once more because Jeanne had blocked the other Skeletal Dragon's attack. This back and forth played out for quite a while, until the two dragon was forced back and was to injure to go again.

"「Acid Javelin」."

Narberal subconsciously turned her head and avoided the magical javelin headed at her face.

That was a grave mistake. The attack would not have done anything even if it had hit, so she could have safely ignored it. However, it came right at her, so she evaded it by reflex. This was a mistake that only a magic caster, who had not improved their close combat ability, would make.

That mistake had grave consequences.

Whoosh! Narberal's field of view changed dramatically as an ear-splitting impact rang out. However Jeanne once again block the attack.

"Keep your focus on him Narberal"

"My apology my lady" Narberal said as she glared at Khazit.

"Surrender, and I'll spare your life. How about it?"

A sadistic grin bloomed on Khazit's face, as he assured himself of his impending victory.

Of course, Khazit was not going to spare the two. That look on his face was the kind that looked forward to the girl begging for mercy before he trampled her pathetic form.

Narberal, who had raised her torso off the ground, was so furious that her face was twisted up.

"…erable… human…"

"…What?"

Narberal looked Khazit in the eye and said:

"You miserable little human beings. How dare you utter such nonsense, you pile of trash."

Khazit's eyes went wide and he shuddered with rage, and he gave the order to finish her off.

"Destroy them, Skeletal Dragons!"

The two dragons raised their forelegs, and Narberal smiled.

The words of the man she revered had reached her ears. She would hear him, no matter how far away his voice was.

"Hear me my friend, let show them the power of Nazarick!"

"Finally" Jeanne let out smiled as she dropped all sign of defense.

Narberal look at Jeanne, who nodded her head "…Understood. Then, I shall no longer face you as Nabe, but as Narberal Gamma of the pleiades battle maid."

The Skeletal Dragons raised their forelegs and brought it down, intending to crush Narberal and Jeanne beneath their forepaws. At the very last moment, the two cast a spell before being reduced to paste.

"「Teleportation」."

Their field of vision immediately changed.

The two was now about five hundred meters in the air.

Without wings to keep them aloft, Narberal and Jeanne plummeted toward the ground.

The wind shear roared across their body and the ground drew close. Narberal laughed as the two cast:

"「Fly」."

Their rate of descent slowed and then stopped, until they hung in the air, looking down on the battlefield from just now. Khazit and the two Skeletal Dragons looked around in shock, as Narberal and Jeanne was nowhere to be found.

—

"Haaah~ I'm tired~"

Clementine's flighty words filtered into Ainz's ears.

They had been fighting for several minutes, but Ainz's greatswords had not once touched Clementine.

'Want to switch?' Karna **[MESSAGE]**

'No, I got this don't worry'

"Speaking of which~ that's some amazing physical ability you've got there~ you might even be proud of it~ buuut~"

Her expression turned into a predatory grin.

"—Are you stupid? You're just swinging your swords with raw strength and speed, wildly swiping around like a kid with a stick. You might have a sword in each hand, but if you don't know how to use them, then sticking to one sword would be wiser. Aren't you taking the warrior business a little too lightly?"

"Come at me, then. Haven't you been doing nothing but dodging since just now? It won't be good for you if you drag this out for too long, no?"

Ainz chuckled coldly as he replied to her.

Clementine furrowed her brows. He had her there — Clementine had not attacked Ainz.

Instead, she had been dodging his attacks, and that was because Ainz's extraordinary physical attributes did not give her an opening to attack.

Things were not as easy for Clementine as she had claimed. She was beginning to feel angry at herself for not being able to take the initiative and strike.

"You said no warrior could beat you, right? Where's that confidence of yours fled to?"

"…"

Clementine finally went to her weapons after Ainz taunted her. She had four of the piercing weapons called stilettos at her waist, as well as a morningstar. Right now, she drew one of those stilettos.

With his superhuman eyesight, Ainz verified that the morningstar was covered in detritus that looked like blood and chunks of flesh. Ainz tightened his grip on the greatswords in his hands as he stared down Clementine.

Just as both sides were about to strike, the earth shook.

Ainz could not take his eyes away from Clementine, who had taken a fighting stance. But Karna glance to the side, and saw that there were two gigantic dragon-shaped monsters made of bone where Narberal was fighting.

"…Skeletal Dragons… huh?" Karna said.

"Skeletal Dragons?"

"Cor-rect~ Looks like you two know a thing or two. Yup~ they're the bane of any magic caster."

"I see. So that's why those two can't win right."

"In~deed it is," Clementine replied in a mocking tone of voice. She seemed to have regained her composure after the Skeletal Dragons showed up. Ainz furrowed his illusory brows under his helmet.

It was true that Skeletal Dragons were tricky opponents for magic casters, and now there were two of them. Narberal as she was now could not possibly beat them.

As though sensing the agitation in Ainz's heart, Clementine shifted slightly.

This was a move that was intended to seal off his movements, so there would probably be a follow-up to it. When one saw a weakness in a powerful opponent, it would be natural to take the chance and attack.

Ainz cast all thoughts of Narberal and Jeanne from his mind and thrust forth the greatsword in his left hand in an intimidating manner. It was a faint as he slowly raised the greatsword in his right hand in preparation for a powerful strike.

Clementine's weapons were a piercing type, and they could not execute complex attacks like slashing weapons could. They were weapons that were optimized for charges. In addition, stilettos were slender and were certainly not strong enough to survive a clash with greatswords.

Because of that, Ainz used his left-hand greatsword to keep her at bay, waiting for Clementine to close in. However, Clementine knew what he was up to.

"Do you have any way to close this gap?"

"I wonder~"

Clementine had a smug, self-assured look on her face as she responded in her usual self-assured tone. All of this pointed to the fact that she had something up her sleeve.

Clementine slowly changed her posture, lowering herself into what seemed like a runner's crouch. However, her body was still upright, so she looked very strange. It might have appeared comical, but this was definitely not the sort of stance one could take lightly.

And then — Clementine moved. Before Ainz's vigilant eyes, Clementine shot out like a fully compressed spring.

She sprinted right at him.

It was a charge that even Ainz, with his superhuman physical abilities, could hardly believe was possible.

Like a hurricane that devoured everything in its path, Clementine closed the distance between them in an instant. She slid under the greatsword Ainz was holding out, her physical dexterity allowing her to maintain her full speed as she moved.

Ainz — who was shaken by Clementine's serpentine movements — forcefully swung his right-hand sword. The powerful stroke ripped through the air as it surged toward Clementine, promising unimaginable devastation if he connected.

And in that brief instant, Ainz saw the face-splitting grin on her face get even wider.

"「Invulnerable Fortress」."

The unbelievable sight took Ainz aback.

'Finally something interesting' Karna divert his attention on Skeletal Dragon and focus on Ainz and Clementine fight.

The slender stiletto had actually blocked a hit from a greatsword that was more than ten times its mass.

The stiletto should have snapped under the grand strike it had just blocked head-on. Even if it had remained intact by some miracle, it would have been knocked flying. However, it was Ainz's greatsword which bounced away, like it had struck some ridiculously strong castle wall.

As though throwing herself into a lover's embrace, Clementine rushed toward Ainz's unguarded chest. In that moment, half of Ainz's field of view was taken up by the grinning Clementine.

Ainz retreated, but his opponent was faster. This attack, which combined a full-tilt charge, all her strength, and skillful use of momentum, could be described as "meteoric."

There was a flash of light, and then the screeching of metal clashing with metal rang through the graveyard.

Clementine ducked the wild swing of Ainz's left-hand sword and then sprang clear.

Ainz knew the secret behind Clementine's flashy moves.

'So this is what a user Martial art like, huh' Karna focus all of his attention on Clementine, studying her like a newly discovered animal.

These were techniques which did not exist in YGGDRASIL. They could be said to be a warrior's magic — and they were things of which he and Ainz had to be wary.

Its effect seemed to be to defend against Ainz greatsword hit and neutralize the weapon's impact. She must have used martial arts to deflect Ainz attack.

"…So haaaard~ what's that armor of you're made of? Adamantite… hm?"

Although Ainz did not feel pain, he felt that something sharp had pierced his left shoulder, near the place where he had heard the sound of scraping.

Ainz glanced to the shoulder from where the impact had come, but there was only a slight dent in the armor. Although the armor had no special magical properties, it was still the product of a level one hundred magic caster's spells. The armor's hardness increased with its creator's level, so the fact that there was a dent in the armor was testament to the destructive power of Clementine's strikes.

"Ah well. If that's the case, next time~ hmm, maybe I should hit somewhere with thinner armor~ although I wanted to wear your down bit by bit, then sloooowly torment you once you couldn't move~ what a shame, what a shame."

Ainz realised that Clementine had not been wildly attacking his shoulders, but aiming to disable his arms in order to render him incapable of attacking. For the first time, Ainz felt something like respect toward Clementine the warrior.

All Ainz could do was simply swing his swords and deal damage to the enemy. Of course, if he could hit at all, the enemy would assuredly be slain. However, against a skilled opponent, he had to carefully consider the flow of the battle.

This has been good training for me…

"Mmm, then I'm coming~"

Just as Ainz was admiring Clementine, she took that strange stance she had assumed from just now. In response, Ainz raised his right-hand greatsword to meet the attack. This time, however, he did not thrust forth his left-hand greatsword.

Clementine snorted at Ainz's stance and sprinted. She was so fast that even Ainz and his incredible dynamic vision could barely follow her. If she had not rushed straight at him, he might have lost track of her movements.

In the face of Clementine's full-tilt charge, like an ominous arrow headed straight at him, Ainz swung his right-hand greatsword, launching an attack of his own to intercept her—

"「Invulnerable Fortress」."

—The swing was deflected by the same martial art as before, but he had already predicted this. Ainz had lost his balance in the previous exchange because he had put all his strength into the blow, so this time, he did not use as much force.

Ainz absorbed the radiating impact — as though he had struck a wall — with the strength of his arm, and then he swung his left-hand greatsword. This time, Ainz was fully confident that his foe could not block another full power hit.

However, even faster than that, Clementine used another martial art.

"「Flow Acceleration」."

This martial art had a startling effect.

It felt as though someone had used time-controlling magic to slow time down. Everything moved slowly, as though immersed in some highly viscous fluid. The speed of Ainz swing slowed to a crawl.

However Clementine moved at the same speed in this decelerated world. She effortlessly dodged Ainz's counterattack and approached Ainz from the front.

This might have been some sort of misperception on Ainz's part. The magic rings which Ainz wore should have protected him from temporal attacks and attacks designed to impede his freedom of movement — although there might be some unknown factor at work here.

He must have felt like she had accelerated all of a sudden because his battle with Clementine was so intense. The important thing was that Ainz had seen this martial art before, but he had not felt the same way back then.

"Gaze—"

Gazef Stronoff had used this technique before.

Before he could finish speaking the name, her stiletto stabbed at him. It was aimed at one of Ainz eyes, through the narrow vision slit of his helmet.

Ainz forcefully jerked his head to the side, and while he managed to evade the stiletto thrust, the sound of metal shrieking against metal echoed through his helmet. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief that he had avoided the worst of it, he glimpsed Clementine readying her stiletto for another attack out of the corner of his eye.

"Cheh!"

Even after factoring in the differences in their physical abilities, Clementine's straight-line thrust was faster than the circular swing of Ainz's greatsword. This time, the stiletto struck home, hitting Ainz dead on.

"Hm—?"

"Guh!"

A surprised voice and a panicked voice hit the air at the same time.

Ainz pressed his greatsword against his helmet and jumped far back, but there was no follow-up attack.

Clementine glanced at Ainz's unsightly retreat, then looked curiously at the tip of her stiletto. With a mocking laugh, she said:

"That's enough of that handicap stuff. If you two don't go all-out at the same time them you two will die~"

And then, to clear up her own doubts, Clementine continued asking the silent Ainz:

"Still, how did you do it? I know I hit you, but you're fine. I thought I would have hurt you with that~"

"…Good grief. I've… learned a lot from this battle. First, about these things called martial arts, and also, the fact that I can't swing my swords around blindly during combat, and the importance of maintaining my balance while attacking."

"…Hah? Are you an idiot? If you've only learned that now… then you're a failure as a warrior. Oh well, it doesn't matter since you're going to die here~ though I'd like an answer to my question… was it some sort of defensive martial art~?"

Clementine's tone showed that she had had it with Ainz. He, on the other hand smiled bitterly under his helmet, because he agreed with what she had said.

"No, you're right. I really am unskilled… you have my thanks. Although, since time is tight, playtime is now over."

Paying no heed to the doubt on Clementine's face, Ainz shouted at the top of his voice:

"Hear me my friend, let show them the power of Nazarick!"

'Finally…' Karna who had been leaning on a dead tree, walk next to Ainz.

Ainz swivelled the sword hilts in his hands and then stabbed the points of both his greatswords into the ground. Ainz extended his empty hands before him, and gently beckoned Clementine over.

"Now then, prepare yourself for death and come at me."

—-—-—

"…So, you can use the 「Fly」 spell, looks like you're not bluffing. Although, how did you avoid that last hit? I didn't see you behind the Skeletal Dragons…"

That puzzled question reached the two floating women, who was slowly descending from the heavens. Khazit had no idea why they had not used the 「Fly」 spell to escape. They could have done so when encountering the Skeletal Dragons, but they had not. It baffled him.

"Hmph, you think you can win? Against Skeletal Dragons, who are immune to magic?"

"There are any number of ways to win… but before that…"

Narberal grabbed at her shoulder and pulled off her robe.

"Rejoice, inferior life form (humans). You have the honor of doing battle with Narberal Gamma, one of the battle maids of Pleiades who are the loyal servants of the supreme beings, the Absolute Rulers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Her equipment was completely different. She now wore gauntlets and greaves of gold, silver, and black metal, as well as a set of maid-themed armor which looked like it had come out of a manga. In place of a helmet, she wore a maid's white-brimmed headdress. In her hands she held a staff of gold inlaid with silver.

Player-made items in YGGDRASIL could have their abilities changed by using data crystals. Narberal's robe had a quick-change crystal embedded in it, so she could directly swap out her gear for a set of predetermined equipment without having to waste time changing.

Her cast-off robe now occupied the pocket dimension where they had been.

Khazit narrowed his eyes in puzzlement as he saw the maid before him, and when he finally realized what was going on—

"What?"

—He exclaimed in surprise.

Of course he would have been taken aback when the magic caster before him turned into a maid.

Although he was annoyed by her nonsensical get-up, Narberal's serene expression filled Khazit with a sense of danger. He immediately ordered the Skeletal Dragons to attack. The two Skeletal Dragons drew close to Narberal with surprising speed, swinging their forepaws, which were made of countless bones. Before they could strike home, Narberal cast a spell.

"「Dimensional Move」."

"That again!"

Once more, Narberal vanished without a trace.

Khazit looked to the sky to look for the missing Narberal as he thought of what had happened earlier. However, it was his pain that told him where Narberal was.

"—Gyaaah!"

Khazit's wail resounded throughout the graveyard. A searing pain pierced Khazit's left shoulder, and the pain spread through his body with the pulse of his heartbeat.

A shocked Khazit looked at the wound, at the sharp blade that protruded from the wound.

"—Gah, gaaaah!"

In the next moment, the blade was savagely withdrawn, and pain washed over him again. The sensation of something scraping his bones filled his body, made worse by the agony that gripped him. Thick blood gushed from the wound, staining his black robe.

Drooling from the intense pain, Khazit jerked his head back to see what was going on.

All he saw was Narberal, looking at him curiously.

"Did it hurt that much?"

"—!"

Narberal was holding a black-bladed dagger in the hand that was not holding her staff.

Khazit was in so much pain that he could not speak.

Magic casters typically shunned the frontline, and Khazit was the sort who was served by and dealt out pain to others. Thus, pain was not a common experience for him, which was why his tolerance for it was so low.

Oily sweat beading on his forehead, Khazit issued a mental command to the Skeletal Dragons. Narberal fell back, drawing away from the approaching Skeletal Dragons. The 「Fly」 spell was faster than the running speed of a normal man.

The two Skeletal Dragons charged into the space left by Narberal.

After hiding in the safe space behind the Skeletal Dragons, Khazit's calm returned to him, and he finally understood the kind of spell Narberal had used.

That was—

"So it was teleportation magic!"

「Dimensional Move」 was a third tier spell, but to magic casters, it was an escape spell used to put distance between themselves and their adversaries.

However, that was only the case for magic casters, who were an unathletic lot. For a magic caster with fighting prowess that was on par with a warrior, that spell was arguably more valuable than even a weak attack spell, given that it was very difficult to defend against.

Khazit pressed down on his shoulder and glared at Narberal.

"I see, so you were planning to kill me with teleportation! You must have escaped with teleportation as well just now!"

Indeed, it was a tricky trump card to deal with. Since magic was useless against the Skeletal Dragons, the sensible thing was to kill their controller. In addition, with Narberal's skillful use of teleportation, Khazit would have a very hard time dodging.

However, Narberal casually answered:

"How could that be?"

Khazit could not comprehend what she was saying for a moment, and blinked nonstop. Narberal returned the shortsword to its sheath, and began explaining:

"I was simply demonstrating that I could kill you easily."

Narberal had shown him how she could turn a thoroughly unfavorable situation around, but she had completely abandoned that method. Khazit had no idea what she was up to.

"…Are you mad?"

"Granted, you are an inferior life form (flea), but what kind of answer is that? Use that head of yours a little."

Khazit shuddered as he saw Narberal's cold glare.

He was not trembling in anger, but in fear. Unease welled up within Khazit's mind.

"Narberal, it is time to end this"

"As you wish Supreme one" with a bow she turn back to Khazit.

"As my lady has said, it's about time to wrap this up. As a servant, it would be rude of me to keep my lady waiting… You seem to think magic is useless against Skeletal Dragons. Then, I shall enlighten you, inferior life form (shore fly). The fee for that lesson will be your life."

She released her staff and clapped her hands together. As she drew them apart again, tongues of white lightning arced between them. They took the form of dragons, and the air around them began glowing and crackling with energy.

The white radiance seemed to engulf Narberal.

"…Erk."

Khazit started, at a loss for words. He could understand that this was a mighty spell that exceeded his own frame of reference. Amidst the actinic white radiance, the cold smile on Narberal's face branded itself onto his eyes.

The massive bodies of the Skeletal Dragons loomed before him. As he recalled their existence, an alarm screamed within him.

"—You, you think you can beat Skeletal Dragons, who are immune to all magic? Go! Kill her!"

Khazit's shouted order was laced with the panic he could no longer hide.

As the two Skeletal Dragons drew close, Narberal laughed. It was the laugh of a merciless master correcting her foolish pupil.

"Immune to all magic? It's true that Skeletal Dragons resist magic, but that ability only applies to spells of the sixth tier and below." Jeanne corrected.

The Skeletal Dragons would not reach the two for some time yet. During that delay, the strangely calm Khazit finally realised the meaning of Jeanne words.

"—In other words, Skeletal Dragons cannot resist the spells of a higher tier which I and Narberal Gamma, can use."

She was not lying. That was what Khazit's instincts told him.

In other words, these women could eliminate the Skeletal Dragons and slay Khazit as well—

"Why!? My sweat and blood of five years, gone in less than an hour!"

As Khazit let out that mournful wail, countless scenes flashed through his mind, as though he were viewing a zoetrope.

Khazit Dale Badantel.

Born in a village on the outskirts of the Slaine Theocracy, his mother was a calm, serene woman while his father had a strong body from working in the village. His childhood was mundane.

The reason why he had ended up like this was because he had seen his mother's corpse.

That day — when the setting sun was clearly visible in the sky — Khazit panted as he ran home. His mother wanted him back earlier, but he had been late because of small things he could not clearly recall. Looking for pretty stones outside the village, playing at being heroes while wielding sticks, all these insignificant things had come together and delayed him.

He ran home, afraid that his mother would scold him, but when he got there, he found his mother collapsed on the ground. He could still clearly remember the warmth of his mother's body when he rushed over to touch her.

He thought it was just a joke, but things turned out otherwise.

Khazit's mother had already departed this world.

According to the clerics, she had died because "she had a blood clot in her brain."

In other words, it was nobody's fault. Nobody was to blame. No. Khazit felt that someone was responsible.

That someone was himself. If only he had returned home earlier, he might have been able to save his mother.

There were many divine magic casters in the Slaine Theocracy, and there were quite a few in Khazit's own village. If only he had begged them for help, perhaps his mother might be well, and still smiling at him.

The person who had caused his beloved mother's face to twist in agony was none other than himself.

Khazit made up his mind to atone for his misdeed — in other words, he would bring his mother back to life.

Yet, the more magic he learned, the bigger the problems he encountered.

There was a resurrection spell in the fifth tier of divine magic, but that spell could not resurrect his mother. Resurrection expended a tremendous amount of life force on the part of the dead person, and the deceased who lacked sufficient life force would not be resurrected, but reduced to ash and dust. His mother did not have the necessary vitality.

Nor did he have the time needed to research a new resurrection spell. However, if he abandoned his humanity and became undead, he might be able to buy himself enough time to eventually develop a new spell to raise the dead.

That was the conclusion which Khazit had arrived at.

He abandoned the divine magic he had studied all his life, and stepped on the path of using arcane magic to become undead. However, there were still obstacles in his way.

After walking the path of an arcane magic caster, he would still need a very long time to become a high tier undead creature, even after forsaking his humanity. And of course, there might be obstacles in his way, in the form of talent and ability, and he might not even be able to become undead in the first place.

One of the ways to overcome these obstacles was to gather a massive amount of negative energy — yes, by killing an entire city's worth of people — and turning them into undead in order to harness the negative energy they would generate.

And then, just as his wish was granted, another obstacle appeared in his way.

"I spent five years preparing in this city! I've held onto this dream for thirty years! What gives you the right to destroy all of this!? You, who appeared out of nowhere!?"

Khazit's cry was answered by cold laughter.

"I and especially lady Jeanne, have no interest in the dreams of inferior lifeforms (you). Although, your so-called effort did manage to make me laugh. Still, I do have some words for you… well done on becoming a stepping stone for my masters."

"**[Twin Maximize Magic - Chain Dragon Lightning]**."

A roaring, coiling stream of dragon-shaped lightning appeared around both of Narberal's hands.

The lightning discharges were wider than her arms, and they struck the Skeletal Dragons. The vast white buddies shuddered from the impact. The twin lightning blasts wrapped around the Skeletal Dragons' bodies, burning the false life that animated their corpses out of existence.

The end came in an instant.

Under the power of the magic lightning, the Skeletal Dragons and their supposed absolute immunity to magic were torn asunder.

Even though the Skeletal Dragons had been disintegrated, the lightning strikes did not disappear. The two arcs of dragon-shaped lightning seemed to be searching for their quarry, then they raised their heads and sprang at their final prey.

Khazit's vision was obliterated in a sea of white.

He had no time to beg for mercy, nor did he have time to scream.

The tears at the corners of his eyes flashed into steam, leaving behind a whispered "Mum—" The searing light consumed Khazit, and the lightning pierced him without mercy.

Khazit's body went into full-body seizures, as though he were performing some strange dance where he stood.

The current penetrated deep into Khazit's body and ignited him from the inside. After it had vanished, the smoking Khazit collapsed to the ground.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air.

"Even inferior lifeforms (insects) smell good after they've been roasted…"

Narberal shrugged, and muttered to herself. She turns to look at Jeanne and bowed her head to ask "my lady is it alright if I could give him to Entoma as a present?"

'Aw so cute!' Jeanne smile "of course you Narberal"

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

The warrior spread his arms, as if he were going to hug someone.

"…Now what tricks are you two up to, hm!? Giving up already?"

"Giving up? Since I've given signals the end of this fight to my friends, I should wrap things up here as well."

"What? What nonsense are you babbling—? You think you two can beat, the great Clementine without any martial arts? You're pissing me off."

"I have to say, the ravings of a weakling like yourself are quite impressive." Karna mocked.

Clementine wanted to retort with, "That would be you, right?" but she suppressed the boiling rage in her heart.

These men before her did not have much in the way of combat skills, but one possessed superhuman physical abilities. As far as she knew, said abilities were second only to those of the two God-Kin — the Black Scripture's Extra Seat and its First Seat (who was also the Black Scripture's leader). Therefore, the way he swung his weapons at his whim became an unpredictable attack and defense, and if she was not careful, she might have been killed in a single blow.

Clementine faked her usual sneer, and taunted Karna in turn:

"…Forget it. You're right, we should wrap things up quickly."

The two warriors simply shrugged.

Clementine eyed the two stance. There were openings everywhere in both of their stance, but that could not possibly be all there was to them. It was a trap.

However, Clementine had no choice. Her words from earlier might have sounded like a joke, but she meant them. She could probably escape from here by borrowing the power of the Skeletal Dragons, but that was only if she did not waste any more time. Though she had come along to avoid the agents of the Windflower Scripture, she had wasted too much time on playing.

Clementine slowly sank into a crouch, strengthening her grip on her stiletto.

She had to finish this fight quickly, preferably with a single stroke.

Part of that was because she no longer had time to waste, but it was also because the attacks and parries of the man before her were gradually becoming more and more competent. It would be best to kill him now before he grew to a point where she could no longer do so.

So the best way she should proceed with an attack is to go for the white haired man first since the full plate armor Warrior won't expect that. Once he was caught off guard she will attack kill him, and moved on to his partner.

Clementine exhaled loudly and then she surged forward.

「Gale Stride」. 「Greater Evasion」. 「Ability Boost」. 「Greater Ability Boost」. Those were the same four techniques she had used earlier, in an attempt to shrink the gap between their physical abilities. In addition, she still had room to use other techniques, no matter what the two tried.

In this high-speed world, she was fully aware of anything her opponents could do.

The white haired guy might draw his sword from his stealth, or use a martial art, or an unarmed strike, or a hidden weapon… no, he might use a thrown weapon instead.

Clementine guessed that there were dozens of tactics her foe could employ, and she was confident that she could defeat each and every one of them.

However, every single one of her guesses fell short of the mark.

—Because both of her opponent did nothing.

The dark warrior stretched out his arms, waiting for the attack.

A shiver ran down her spine. This was the fear of something beyond her imagination, a fear of the unknown.

Should she charge bravely forward, or back off and flee?

Those were the only two options left to her.

Clementine was cruel and merciless, but she was no fool. In that fraction of a second, she worked out countless possibilities and countermeasures.

In the end, it was her pride and her confidence in her abilities which spurred Clementine on.

Though she had betrayed them, she had once been a member of the Slaine Theocracy's strongest special operations group — the Black Scripture. There were probably less than ten warriors who could defeat her. It was unthinkable that she should flee from the two, who are unknown fighters with hardly any skills to speak of.

Once she made her decision, the rest was easy. There was no need to hesitate any further. As she recovered the composure of a first-rate warrior, Clementine sprinted for Siegfried chest, it so fast it seemed they were going to embrace each other.

"Die—!"

Using all the muscles in her body, Clementine charged forward at Siegfried, which caught both Ainz and Karna off guard a little, and thrust one of stiletto into eyes slits of Momon helmet, in keeping with Clementine's desire to deal a fatal strike, she unleashed the spell stored within the stiletto. That spell was called 「Lightning」.

Lightning bolts shot through Ainz's body

Clementine's weapons possessed a Magic Accumulate enchantment. She could store a spell within the weapon and release it later. Although the act of doing so would expend the spell, that stored spell could be just about any sort of magic. Thus, it was a handy enchantment which allowed her to prepare for just about any situation with the right stored spell.

She drove the stiletto deep into his skull and then released a lightning attack on top of it — this was certainly a fatal blow.

However—

"I'm not done yet! 「Flow Acceleration」!"

Even faster than before, she drove another stiletto into the full helm's vision slit, and then released the 「Fireball」 spell locked within. In her mind, Clementine saw Momon's body burning within his armor, and she imagined she could smell his scorched and blackened flesh.

She immediately uses her other stiletto to stabbed Siegfried in chest. However it broke and shatter into pieces before she could register what happened.

"...Wh-wha-what!?" The moment her stiletto shattered, she quickly look back at Momon, Clementine's eyes went wide in further shock, as she was confronted by another unexpected sight.

"Hm, I see. YGGDRASIL did not have magic weapons like this. Well, this is an eye-opener."

Despite having stilettos stabbed through both his eye sockets, Ainz was still muttering casually to himself. Clementine then realized that there had been no blood when she stabbed him.

'Really, eye-opener?' Karna dead-pan.

'What, that was kinda funny, eye-opener because it was stabbed my eye socket…'

'...'

"No way! Impossible! Why aren't you two dead!?"

She had never heard of a martial art like this which could make people impenetrable and invincible. Or had they used some other method to deal with her stabs? If that were the case, how did Momon stopped the follow-up magical attacks and furthermore how did Siegfried not get pierced by her stiletto.

Even a hardened veteran like Clementine had no answer to those questions.

"!?"

Clementine's throats was caught in Karna grasp, and the adventurers' plates rattled.

"Shall I tell you the answer?" Using his finger, Karna twisted clementine face to look at Ainz.

The jet-black full plate armor on Momon vanished, revealing a terrible face beneath.

It was a fleshless skull. Her stilettos protruded from his empty eye sockets — through the Black Mirrorshades covering them — but it did not seem to be in the slightest bit of pain.

Clementine knew what that meant.

"Undead… your an Elder Lich!?"

"…? …Well, I had a lot of questions to ask you, but I guess not. All I can say is that your answer came quite close. Then—"

The monster before her had neither skin nor flesh, and so it should not have an expression on its face. Yet, Clementine had the feeling that it was smiling at her.

"How does it feel? How does it feel to fight a magic caster with sword in hand? How does it feel to be unable to finish things in a heartbeat?"

"Don't, don't look down on me!"

Clementine used all her strength to struggle free, but she was held immobile, as though by sturdy chains that place on her neck.

Karna tighten his hold on her neck and choked her a little to make her stop squirming.

"W-u-wh-u-y!?"

—She could not get free.

Once she realized that the mighty arm which held her by the neck — in other words, his physical strength — was not the result of his armor's enchantment, Clementine froze. What she saw in her mind was a butterfly trapped in a spider's web, with no way out.

"…This is what I meant by a handicap. Simply put, there was no need for us to go all out — that is to say, cast a spell — against an opponent like you." Karna said as he tightened up his grabbed again, clementine cough and chocked violently.

"Well then, since the truth's out, let's begin… but first, these are in the way." Ainz said.

There was a grinding sound as the Elder Lich pulled out the stilettos which had been stabbed into its eyes and cast them aside. As the undead creature did this, Clementine was still struggling for dear life, but even her full strength could not compare to the power in just a single grip of his. All she could do was choked helplessly within his grip, unable to move.

After the stilettos were drawn out, an evil red light remained in those empty eye sockets. They looked down on the panting, gasping Clementine as she exerted herself.

"Now then, shall we begin?"

Clementine — who was on guard against anything her opponent might try to pull ever since she heard the word "begin" — felt herself being drawn nearer to the Elder Lich, closer than even lovers were.

After that, she heard a strange creaking sound.

Clementine understood what the white haired man was doing as a chill ran down her spine, as though she had been impaled by an icicle.

"N-u-o…No…y-u-a b-ust-ard—!"

—He was planning to crush her throat flat.

"Perhaps if you were weaker…"

The Elder Lich withdrew a dagger from somewhere. It was black, with four jewels set into its hilt.

"I thought about using this to finish you off… but well, isn't it all the same if you get stabbed to death by the blade, die by having your spine broken, or get your throat crushed? In the end, you die."

Clementine's body shuddered.

His casual tone caused panic to bloom in her heart, and the crushing pressure on her neck grew. She squirmed and use both of her hand to try and force the white haired man hand off her neck. As she kick, punch and squirm in a desperate attempt to free herself, However, that hurt Clementine more than it did him. Then, as the pain set in, she reached for her morningstar to maul him, but she was not used to wielding it and injured herself instead.

the metal plate from the adventurer she'd kill began to fall off.

The first to fall were the four silver plates which she had recently acquired.

It was frightening how it was becoming more and more painful to breathe and her strength was slowly fading away.

She could clearly see the fate awaiting her. From how the act of breathing was getting more and more difficult, the ever-increasing pressure on her belly, her slowly deforming armor, she knew exactly what was going to happen to her.

"Don't bother struggling. Do you think I can't end this quickly just by changing how tight I holding your throat? You took your time killing them, so I'm going to take my time killing you as well."

Clementine desperately flailed at him. He pulled her face closer to his, until the two were at eye level.

She took this opportunity and tried to punch and push his face away, scratched at him until her nails nearly came off, but nothing she did worked, and the unbearable pressure kept increasing.

No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break free of the hand binding her. Even so, Clementine kept squirming, betting everything for a slim chance at hope even as it became difficult to breathe and her vision began blacking out.

"Is this the dance of death?"

"That to poetic for my taste"

She did not even have the strength to hear those whispered words.

There was the sound of retching, and then vomit spewed over Karna hand.

Clementine, who had been desperately swinging her arms about in the hope of escaping, body was now unable to do anything, she couldn't punch kick or squirm anymore.

Still, Karna did not loosen his grip, but tightened it further. Soon, the feeling of thick bones breaking ran up through Karna arm.

He released her throat, which could not even twitch any more.

Clementine's body thudded heavily on the ground, like a sack of rubbish. Her face was a hideous blend of agony and terror. Like a deep sea fish brought up to the surface, one could see her internal organs in her mouth.

Karna hand began to heat up in order to rid himself of the vomit that stuck to his hand. At the same time, he spoke casually to Clementine, who could no longer answer him:

"I forgot to tell you… but we are a terrible hypocrite."

The two began to hear a huge object approaching fast. They turned toward the source of the sound, and as it turned out, it was Hamsuke.

Hamsuke's fighting power was far weaker than that of Ainz, Karna, Jeanne and Narberal. Allowing it to fight would only lead to unnecessary injuries. Therefore, Ainz ordered it to stand by some distance away. It must have come because it could not hear the sound of fighting any more.

He recognized the expression on the giant hamster's adorable face — it was worried for them — and he went a little weak.

The giant hamster, which did not know what its master was thinking, approached the two with unexpected speed and then looked around. When it locked eyes with Ainz:

"Geh—!"

It flipped over and bared its belly while wailing:

"…There's a horrible monster here! Milord! Milord~!"

Ainz grabbed his head, all the strength fleeing his body. Come to think of it, he had not yet shown Hamsuke his true form. However, he could not let it continue making a racket here. As he looked to the graveyard wall in the distance, he saw that the adventurers were still battling the Wraiths. Judging by distance alone they should not be able to hear Hamsuke, but there was no guarantee of that.

In a stern tone, Ainz scolded Hamsuke:

"…That's enough clowning around from you."

"Oh? That manly and commanding voice… could it be milord?"

"…Indeed. That's why I want you to keep your voice down."

"Unbelievable! This is more than what I expected… though I long knew milord was possessed of tremendous power… this Hamsuke's faithful loyalty to you is redoubled!"

"Is that so? However, I'll say it again — keep your voice down."

"That, that's cruel, milord! Please do not make light of your servant's pledge of loyalty, hurt my delicate feeling it does!"

"…Did you not hear what lord Ainz said? Fool."

Part of Hamsuke's body flattened as it was kicked into the distance. In place of its body was Narberal's foot, which she slowly withdrew.

"My lord, there should be no value in raising this foolish lifeform. Would you allow your loyal servant to incinerate it?"

"No… being known as the one who commands the Wise King of the Forest is quite worthwhile. Having it alive and well on our travels is beneficial to us. Back to the point — Narberal, time is short. Go loot their bodies. We might need to turn their possessions over to the local authorities, so we need to ascertain the value of those objects first."

"Understood."

"I will be in the chapel. Take care of the rest."

"Yes! Then… what about the corpses? Should we take them back to Nazarick?"

"No. We might need to hand over the masterminds behind the incident, so just take their equipment."

"Wait…" Karna looked down at clementine lifeless body "take this one body back to Nazarick, she has valuable information and skills that Nazarick doesn't have"

"That is going to be a problem" Jeanne said.

Karna raised a curious brow.

That robed guy, we kinda Incinerated him and I also promised to give him to Entoma as gift…" Jeanne said as she turned her head to the side.

"Really… Uh fine, we just used an item to replicate the two and give them to the athurity" Karna said.

"But what if they discover that the body was just a clone, wouldn't we get

blamed for that?" Jeanne asked.

"…true…well the only way to settle this is to resurrect that khajiit guy and kill him without incinerating him and blame all of this on him… sorry Jeanne"

"Wait does resurrection magic even work in this new world?" Ainz asked.

"Well we're about to find out… so Narberal go and gather what's left his corpse"

"Understood."

"Owie…"

Hamsuke — who had just run back — sighed with deliberate loudness. Narberal glared coldly at him:

"Lord Karna words are more important than anything you have to say. This is basic knowledge for one of his servants. A life form like you is the lowest-ranked of all his minions, so you will either pay attention or I will kill you on the spot."

Hamsuke shivered.

"Next time, it will not be a physical attack, but magic. For the crime of disobeying lord Karna, you will suffer until you pray for death."

"I understand… please do not put on that scary face… although, I was quite surprised by how majestic he looked. It was quite impressive."

Narberal's expression softened a little and she said:

"Indeed. Lord Karna cuts an impressive figure. At least you have good taste."

"Thank you for your praise. But if that is how milord looks, then do you have another face as well, ms Narberal?"

"…I am a Doppelganger. This face of mine is made by my own innate abilities. Watch."

She removed a glove and revealed a hand with only three fingers, which were longer than human fingers. They resembled the bodies of peppered moths.

"I, I see…"

"Don't look so surprised. You're a servant in the Great Tomb of Nazarick as well, so don't make such a big deal over such small things. Anyway, I'm going to strip the magic items from the corpses, and bring that pile of ashes back, so come along and help me."

"Yes! Understood!"

—

The boy (Nfirea) was in the chapel. As Ainz, Karna looked at him. Jeanne would have been their if it wasn't the clothes Nfirea was wearing. He wore a strange, transparent outfit which drew attention to his body, but Ainz and Karna attention was on his face.

Someone had cut him across the face and punctured his eyes. From the tear-shaped clots of reddish-black blood that wept down his cheeks, it was clear that he was blind.

"Well… blindness can be cured… magic really is convenient." Karna mused.

The question now was Nfirea current condition.

He had been standing up here, but had not reacted to Ainz and Karna arrival. Even if his eyes could not see, he should have known that someone was coming. However, there was no reaction, which implied one thing — mind control. The question now was what sort of control he was under.

"It must be this."

Ainz's gaze settled on the spiderweb-like crown which rested on Nfirea's head. Or rather, it would be better to say that nothing else looked more suspicious than it.

Just as he reached out to remove the crown, Ainz stopped himself halfway. Since he did not know what had caused this, he should not make any careless moves. Therefore, Ainz cast a spell on the crown.

"**[All Appraisal Magic Item]**."

In YGGDRASIL, this spell would tell its caster about a magic item's creator and manufacturer. The spell could also be cast here. No, beyond that, information which could not appear in YGGDRASIL showed up in Ainz's mind.

"The Crown of Wisdom… I see. However… this item's abilities don't exist in YGGDRASIL… so it's a magic item that could not have existed in YGGDRASIL."

"What?" Karna eyes widen slightly "then can we remove the item?"

Ainz sighed after learning all this, and began thinking about what to do next.

He was mainly concerned about the benefits of bringing Nfirea back to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The prospect of gaining a rare magic item and an equally rare talent-holder was very attractive.

However, his hesitation only lasted for a moment.

"Since we accepted this task, failing it on purpose would stain the name of Ainz Ooal Gown don't you think?."

Karna singh "fine"

"**[Greater Break Item]**."

Ainz cast a spell on the crown. The sight of it decomposing into sparkling dust was quite beautiful.

Ainz tenderly embraced the limp youth and gently laid him on the ground. Then he examined Nfirea's face.

"After this… all I need to do is heal his eyes… though I probably shouldn't do that here."

Ainz touched his face and then rose slowly. The undead he had summoned had not been completely wiped out yet, but he sensed that some of them had already been destroyed. Soon, the reinforcements — or rather, interfering busybodies — would find this place. Before that, he had to recast his facial illusion and remake his swords and armor.

He also had to recover their magic items quickly.

Unlike how things were when he PKed in YGGDRASIL, he could take all their weapons and gear for his own. It pleased him.

As he looked back to see if he needed to help Narberal collect the equipment, she alone with Jeanne appeared at the entrance of the chapel.

"My lord."

"What's the matter? Have you already collected the enemy's gear? How about their cash and the ashes?"

"Yes. However, there is something I wanted to consult you about, concerning this."

Narberal advanced into the chapel, a black orb in her hand. It looked uneven, like a pebble one might find by the side of a river, and it did not seem very valuable.

"…What is that?"

"It seems to be something which that guy, Khajiit use to cause all of this, However, my guess is that this is an intelligent item…"

"...What!?" Ainz and Karna yield in surprise "aren't those the rare item in YGGDRASIL that can have AI script be written into them?"

"Yep" Jeanne simply answer.

Ainz picked up the orb, and cast the same spell he had just now.

"**[All Appraisal Magic Item]**."

The red points of light which served as Ainz's eyes lit up.

"What is this…? The Orb of Death? And… it true, it is an intelligent magic item?"

The Orb of Death was an impressive name, but it was hardly outstanding.

It aided in controlling the undead, and it could cast several different necromantic spells every day, but none of those appealed to Ainz. It also had the drawback of mentally dominating humans who held it, although Ainz and his friends — who possessed defenses against mind-affecting effects — were immune, as were demihumans or heteromorphic creatures.

"What a strange item…"

The only thing which intrigued them was the fact that it was an intelligent magic item.

Karna poked it lightly, and just as he was about to command it to speak, there was a voice in his head.

"—Greetings to you, oh mighty supreme ones."

Those words echoed within all of their heads. They continued looking at the Orb. In a world of monsters and magic, this was hardly something to shout about.

"Umu, it really is an intelligent magic item." Karna commented.

Ainz nimbly rolled the Orb from hand to hand, and then continued examining it. However, the Orb did not show any sign of wanting to speak. Ainz pondered the situation, and then after deciding a possible reason for this, he said:

"I permit you to speak."

"—You have my deepest thanks, mighty King of Death."

This reaction reminded Ainz of the loyal NPCs of Nazarick, and he chuckled.

"—Please accept the utmost respect of this one for the absolute aura of Death which surrounds you."

'I should have dispelled all my auras. Why does this item keep calling me the King of Death?'

'Have you look at yourself in the mirror Ainz?'

'...'

"I shall permit it."

"—My deepest thanks, oh Supreme Overlord of Death. I am deeply grateful to all the forms of death which exist within this world that I could encounter an exalted being like yourself."

Though the Orb was laying it on a bit thick, those words seemed sincere enough. It made Ainz's back itch a little, so he thrust his chest forward and said:

"And? Can you speak anything besides flattery?"

"—Yes. This one deeply apologizes for this thoughtless request, but this one has a wish that it hopes you will help to grant."

"What wish?"

"—Yes. This one has always felt that it had come to this world in order to spread death, but after meeting a mighty King of Death like yourself, this one realised that it had been truly born in order to serve you."

"…Oh."

"—Oh mighty King of Death, please accept this one's fealty. This one hopes to have a place among your faithful servants."

It sounded sincere enough, and if it has a head, it would probably have been lowered. Karna pressed his knuckles to his mouth and began thinking. He had to consider the merits and demerits of taking it as a minion, whether it was reliable, and so on.

Karna grabbed the orb from Ainz hand and examined the magic item again. For safety's sake, he should probably destroy it. However, something like this did not exist in YGGDRASIL, so destroying it would be a waste.

After casting several protective spells on the Orb, Karna called out to the giant hamster that had entered the chapel.

"Hamsuke."

"What does milord desire?"

"Take it."

Karna tossed the Orb he was holding, and Hamsuke nimbly caught it. This slightly shocked Ainz and Jeanne.

"May I ask milord about this item?"

"It's a magic item. You can use it, right?"

"Mm… I should be able to! But it's noisy! It's so loud I want to return it to milord."

Narberal looked at Hamsuke, her eyes wide.

"Are you giving it to the newcomer?"

Ainz could tell from the way she had lost control of her voice that Narberal was deeply shaken.

"Though I've already cast anti-detection spells on it, I can't say it's perfectly safe, so it's better to hand it to Hamsuke."

"I see! As expected of lord Karna. Your wise judgements are impeccable."

Before the three supreme being were Narberal and Hamsuke, who was bowing. Its cheeks were larger than a human's fists.

Just as he was about to order them to fall back, Ainz noticed his bright red cape. On a whim, he grabbed its.

"Now then. If the recovery is complete, then let us take Nfirea—"

Ainz flourished his red cape in a grandiose manner.

"—And return in triumph."

'Stop being so dramatic'

'Then stop ruining my fun!'

—

The inn went silent, and countless eyes focused themselves on a certain group consisting of four adventurers. This time, nobody obstructed them, and they came before the innkeeper.

"You…"

The eyes of the innkeeper and the inn's patrons were all drawn to the metal plate around all four of the adventurers neck.

In a casual tone which sounded like he was smiling, Ainz said:

"A double room."

After putting down the silver piece, he took the keys from the speechless innkeeper.

And so, Ainz and his friends entered their room, where they dispelled their magic and resumed their true faces.

The mithril plate around each of their neck clinked loudly against their armor. They had explained their part in last night's activities in the graveyard, and had all been awarded that metal plate.

The reason why the inn had gone silent was because of that plate. A people who had been a copper plate adventurer several days ago had now risen quickly through the ranks when they saw them again. This was beyond their ability to comprehend.

Their honest reaction filled everyone with a sense of superiority, as well as dissatisfaction. In Ainz heart, he had been hoping to be promoted all the way to orichalcum rank, but they had only managed the rank before that. What would they have done if they had really obtained an orichalcum plate?

Still, this was not an entirely impossible feat.

Only a small amount of people knew about this matter. However, when they narrated the events at the guild, Ainz and his team accomplishments were truly unbelievable. Though they could have been elevated to adamantite rank right away, that had not happened because they had no prior accomplishments and the investigations into the matter were not complete. Therefore, the Guild had decided to be prudent about this.

In other words, the Guild already thought of them as an equal to the two adamantite-ranked adventurer parties in the Kingdom.

In addition, as time went by, the story of the battle in the graveyard, as well as the great name of Ainz — Momon, Karna — Siegfried, Jeanne — Artoria and Narberal — Nabe would certainly spread throughout the city. This was because the fleeing guards talked about the exploits of them.

The plan had gone so smoothly that they could not help but smile. No, it had not gone smoothly; it had gone perfectly.

Ainz flicked the mithril plate with a finger, and then Narberal asked the question in her heart.

"May I ask how we should deal with those two? They said they would contact us about the appropriate remuneration."

Narberal was referring to Nfirea and Lizzie Bareare — the two herbalists. Ainz had already decided how to deal with them.

"Lizzie said she would pay with everything she had. Therefore, I will have her bring her grandson to Carne Village. She will make potions for me — us, for entire Great Tomb of Nazarick."

"…There are people who can make potions in Nazarick as well. Why must you specially engage these lower lifeforms (fishes) to do so as well?"

"It's because we want a new source of power." Karna answered.

Narberal stare dumbfoundedly and did not respond, so Karna continued:

"We have considered that potion ingredients might run dry, so it is necessary to develop potion-making methods other than those of YGGDRASIL. In addition, we might be able to combine the methods of this world and YGGDRASIL, thus opening up a new avenue of power for us. After all, we might have already fallen behind by six hundred years. Of course, we'll need to sternly warn her not to spread the means of making those potions… but looking at her, it seems that won't be a problem."

Karna recalled Lizzie's reaction when they brought Nfirea back to her.

Jeanne had already healed Nfirea eyes, but he was still only semi-conscious due to the tremendous shock he had received. Even so, when Lizzie learned that her grandson's life was no longer in danger, she wept copiously, and swore that she would pay them what she had promised.

"Let's leave Lizzie aside for now. There's something more important to take care of, didn't Entoma said we should contact Albedo as soon as possible?"

"Your right" Karna looked at Ainz.

"Why am I doing it?" Ainz let out a quiet complaints.

Ainz cast the **[MESSAGE]** spell and contacted Albedo.

He had received Entoma's **[MESSAGE]** earlier, but since he was not free to talk earlier, Ainz could only tell her not to worry too much about things. After that, he had been far too busy to talk.

After the **[MESSAGE] **connected to Albedo, the first thing she said far exceeded everyone's imagination.

'My lords. Shalltear Bloodfallen has rebelled against us…'

For a moment, they had no idea what those words meant. After they slowly filtered into each of their minds, everyone reaction was like that of a moron.

"…Hah?"


	9. Chapter 6 - part 1: True Vampire

**CHAPTER 6**

**True Vampire**

"What kind of food is this!?"

A shrill, nigh-hysterical voice cut through the air, and then the sound of crashing cutlery echoed through the dining room.

Several people turned to look at the girl who was kicking up a fuss.

The girl was so beautiful that using the word to describe her seemed inadequate. Her looks could rival those of the Kingdom's most beautiful woman — the one with the appellation of "Golden" — and her anger only added to her charm.

In addition, every move she made was elegant and refined, even while throwing a tantrum.

She must have been nobility in some country, the heiress to a highborn family. She flicked at her long French curls in annoyance, and glared at the food before her in dissatisfaction.

All manner of dishes packed the table before her.

There were freshly-baked loaves of bread, still steaming in their basket. The plates were laden with thick, rare cuts of juicy red meat, served with sweetcorn and buttered mashed potatoes. The sight of them stimulated the appetite. The fresh vegetables which made up the salad were still crisp and soft, and their fragrant dressing filled the room with a citrus scent.

The highest-class inn in E-Rantel — the Shining Golden Pavilion — used 「Preservation」 magic to keep their ingredients fresh. Naturally, only the finest of chefs were allowed to turn said ingredients into meals.

However, despite the best efforts of the most skilled chefs that used the finest ingredients to produce culinary works of art — which only nobility, royalty, or the wealthiest of merchants would be privileged enough to taste — the girl turned her nose up at the plates before her.

It was only natural to feel shocked by her complaint, but beyond that, the people who heard her also felt curiosity about what she normally ate.

"It tastes horrible!"

The words she uttered after that were singularly inappropriate for this place, and they left everyone in the room speechless.

However, the old butler behind the girl kept his expression neutral and did not change his stance Even when the girl turned and glared at him, he remained unmoved, as though he could not make any other facial expressions.

"Ahhhh, I can't bear to stay in this run-down city any further! We're setting out now!"

"But Young Mistress, it's already evening—"

"Silence! I said we're going, so we're going, do you understand me!?"

Only after hearing the girl's childish tantrum did the butler's posture change. He lowered his head and replied:

"Understood, Young Mistress. I shall begin travel preparations immediately."

"Hmph! If you understand, then hurry up and get ready, Sebas!"

The girl tossed away the fork she was holding and rose to her feet, before flouncing out of the dining room. She was still fuming as she did so.

After the storm had passed, a solemn, dignified voice lightened the heavy mood in the room:

"I apologize to everyone for the disturbance."

The butler picked up the chair which the girl had knocked over and replaced it, then bowed deeply to everyone in the dining room as a sign of contrition. Quite a few of them accepted the old man's immaculate apology with pitying eyes.

"—Innkeeper."

"Yes."

A man who had been waiting in the wings approached the butler.

"Once again, I apologize for startling everyone. Though I know it will not excuse this offense, I hope you will allow me to pay for the meals of everyone here."

Looks of delight bloomed on the faces of several of the diners as they heard those words. A meal in a first-rate inn like this would certainly not be cheap. If this old man was willing to pay for their food, that would be a good enough reason to forgive that girl.

On the other hand, the innkeeper's face remained impassive as he bowed politely in response to the butler's proposal. That natural reaction of his was proof that scenes like this had been seen many times, ever since this pair of master and servant had taken up lodgings at the Shining Golden Pavilion.

Sebas looked toward a corner of the dining hall, at a destitute-looking man shoveling food into his mouth. As the man noticed Sebas's eyes on him, he rose to his feet and quickly walked towards Sebas.

Compared to the other guests, the man seemed completely out of place. He lacked both style and class, and so he stood out from everyone around him.

Although his clothes were no shabbier than those of the people nearby, they did not go well on him. In fact, it was quite comical — like a clown in fancy dress.

"Master Sebas."

"What is it, Zack-san?"

The other guests frowned as they heard the smarmy tones in which Zack spoke. The way he wrung his hands went very well with the way he was toadying up to Sebas.

However, Sebas's expression remained unchanged.

"As a hired man, I have no room to propose an alternative… but would it not be better to reconsider the decision to set off immediately?"

"Are you saying you have difficulty driving a wagon at night?"

"That is one of the reasons, and… I have some… other business to take care of."

Zack scratched his head over and over again. Though his hair looked clean enough, the way he was scratching made it seem like he was going to start throwing off flakes of skin. Quite a few people's frowns deepened further. However, whether he had noticed or not, he ended up scratching even harder.

"However, the Young Mistress will most likely not accept that suggestion. Or rather, given the Young Mistress's personality, she will not change her earlier decision."

With a steely, unyielding look on his face, Sebas concluded:

"Therefore, we have no choice but to set out."

"But…"

Zack's eyes darted around, looking for some other excuse to give. However, he found none, and he grimaced.

"Of course, we will not be leaving right away. We will need some time to load the Young Mistress's luggage onto the wagon. During that time, please prepare for our departure."

Sebas noted the wily gleam in the eyes of the impoverished-looking man before him as he scrambled for something to say. However, Sebas did not show any signs that he cared.

This was all to cover up the fact that all was going as planned.

"Then, when will we be leaving?"

"How about two, maybe three hours later? If we leave later than that, the streets will be shrouded in darkness. That is probably the limit."

That disgusting, calculative look appeared in the man's eyes again. Sebas once again pretended that he had not noticed it. After licking his lips several times, Zack replied:

"Hehe, that should be fine."

"Excellent. Then, can I ask you to begin preparing right away?"

As he watched Zack's retreating figure, Sebas waved his hand, as though to clear the air around him. It seemed polluted somehow, and it clung to him.

Sebas — his face a mask of neutrality — fought the urge to sigh.

Frankly speaking, Sebas had no love for such despicable characters. Perhaps his colleagues Demiurge and Shalltear could derive some minor amusement from these people by treating them like toys, but Sebas did not want to let people like that near himself.

There were some shared opinions in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, such as, "Everything which does not belong to Nazarick is an inferior life form," and "Other than a rare few exceptions, humans and demihumans are weaklings that must be trampled." Sebas operated by his creator's credo that "those who do not save the weak cannot call themselves strong," and thus he had his doubts about those opinions. However, he began to feel that there might be some truth to them when he met wretched individuals like Zack.

"Good grief. Humans should be an outstanding species…"

After raising his hand to stroke his neatly-trimmed moustache, he turned his thoughts to what he should do next.

The plan was going quite well. However, he still needed to confirm the details with his observer.

Just as Sebas was thinking about the direction in which he would proceed, he noticed a man approaching him.

"It must be quite hard on you to have to set out at this time."

The person addressing him was a clean-shaven man in his late forties. His black hair was streaked with white, and due to age and heavy meals, his pot belly was soft and rounded.

He was tastefully-dressed, in clothes that both reflected his high station and his sense of style.

"Bardo-san, I presume?"

Sebas dipped his head in acknowledgement. The man (Bardo) extended a hand to stop him.

"Ah, no, no, there's no need for such formality."

The man called Bardo Lofley was a merchant, who controlled a large portion of the grain trade in this city. For some reason, he had come over and begun speaking to Sebas.

The Fortress City was a strategic location in war. Bardo was heavily involved in the food trade here, which made him quite a big figure among the city's many merchants.

Once one had a fighting force of over ten thousand men, feeding them became a task which consumed great amounts of time and manpower. Therefore, the Kingdom's policy on that matter was to march their troops to this city with minimum rations, whereupon they would resupply upon arrival. Therefore, merchants who dealt in food and weapons were quite influential in this place, unlike regular cities.

Anyone in E-Rantel with such power would never chat up someone else simply because they were eating at the same restaurant. Therefore, he must have had some motive for reaching out to Sebas.

Still, Sebas had been expecting this.

"Sebas-san, that person's not a good sort."

"Is he?"

Sebas's expression changed for the first time as he smiled while answering courteously. His response implied that he knew exactly who Bardo was referring to.

"He's not a trustworthy fellow. I have no idea why you would employ someone like him, Sebas-san."

Sebas thought quickly, looking for the answer which was most appropriate to the present circumstances.

He could not tell the other man the true reasons behind hiring Zack. However, if he said that he had hired Zack because he was a nobody, Sebas would look bad in the eyes of others and their opinions of him would suffer.

Although they had decided to leave this city, he wanted to avoid Bardo thinking poorly of him. In the future, they might need to make use of the man.

"That might be correct, but nobody has sold himself the way he does. Granted, his personality is flawed, but the Young Mistress appreciates his passion."

Bardo smiled uncomfortably, and his opinion of the young mistress in question fell by another notch.

She was there for precisely that purpose, so it could not be helped, but Sebas still found it difficult to have her take the blame for this.

"I fear I have gone too far. I hope you will remove those words from your memory; though I would still suggest that you try to persuade your mistress otherwise."

"There might be merit in your words. However, when I think of the Young Mistress's father; that is to say, the kindness that he showed me, I simply cannot…"

"Of course, loyalty is important…"

Bardo's voice trailed off, and the rest was unintelligible.

"In that case, would you like me to send a few reliable men along with you?"

"There is no need for you to go to such lengths for us."

Those words may have been spoken with kindness and warmth, but they were an ironclad denial. Perhaps Bardo sensed the firm determination hidden within that reply, which was why he decided to try a different angle of approach.

"Is that so? I personally feel it would be better to be escorted by competent bodyguards. The way to the Royal Capital is long, and unlike the Empire, the roads of the Kingdom are not very safe. I could recommend some reliable mercenaries."

The security of the roads in the Kingdom fell to the nobles who owned the land through which those roads passed. In turn, they would collect a toll from travellers. This was the privilege of the nobles, but in truth, it was little more than a means of collecting a road tax, and the security of the roads was riddled through with holes in many places. It was quite common for travellers to meet brigands or sellswords who had turned to banditry while on the road.

In an effort to solve this problem, the "Golden Princess" had worked hard to have the roads patrolled by guardsmen loyal to the Crown. However, there were far too few of these patrolmen for the plan to have any effect. In addition, the nobles were worried that their privileges will be infringed upon, and worked to get in the patrolmen's way.

In the end, the situation was one where the country could not ensure the safety of its own roads.

Therefore, travelling merchants typically hired adventurers or a band of trusted mercenaries to defend themselves. A powerful and prestigious person like Bardo would surely know of well-trained and reliable mercenaries. However, Sebas could not accept his offer.

"Indeed, you might be right to say so. However, the Young Mistress does not like having people by her side, and so I am bound to comply with her requests as much as possible."

"Is that so?"

Bardo was now frowning in an exaggerated manner, a troubled expression on his face. This was how an adult would react in the face of a child throwing a tantrum.

"I apologize for having to reject your kindness."

"Please don't say that. In truth, I wanted to do you a favor, with the hopes of building a stronger relationship with you."

Sebas and company had lodged in this inn under the backstory of being an heiress and her faithful butler who hailed from a city in some part of the Empire. They had then shown the ample purchasing power such a background would merit, in order to see how the people around them would react. The favor Bardo wanted to do was calculated to ingratiate himself with wealthy people.

Sebas smiled gently at the fish which had taken the bait:

"I will relay your kindness to the Young Mistress's father (my master), Bardo-san."

A faint gleam crept into Bardo's eyes, but he swiftly concealed it. Normal people would not have perceived that momentary glittering. However, that brief exposure was more than enough for Sebas to notice it.

"Then, though I apologize for my rudeness, I must make a move first, for the Young Mistress is waiting."

Sebas took the initiative before Bardo could speak.

Bardo — who had been seen through — blinked and studied Sebas's expression briefly, before sighing:

"—Hm, it can't be helped, then. Sebas-san, when you come to this city again, please look for me. I will welcome you warmly."

"Very well. When the time comes, we will be in your care."

As he watched Bardo leave, Sebas muttered to himself:

"Humans really are a varied bunch."

Sebas could sense that Bardo's actions were not purely motivated by personal gain. He was genuinely concerned for the girl and her butler.

It was because of people like these, who wanted to help those in need, that he could not bring himself to hate humanity.

An unforced smile bloomed on Sebas's face.

Sebas knocked several times, announced himself, and then entered the room.

"Forgive my unsightly conduct from earlier, lord Sebas."

As Sebas closed the door after himself, a bowing girl greeted him. Anyone who had witnessed the scene in the dining room from earlier would probably be stunned, because the girl who greeted him was the selfish, temperamental, tantrum-throwing heiress from just now.

She had a serious expression on her face, as though her hysterics from just now had been nothing more than an act.

Her attitude was one which a subordinate would use to greet a superior.

Her clothes and her face were the same, but it seemed as though she were a completely different person.

Another thing was that she had one eye — her left eye — closed. She had not closed that eye while she was in the dining hall.

"There is no need to apologize. You were simply doing your job."

Sebas looked around the luxurious suite. Of course, it was hardly impressive to Sebas, who was in charge of the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. His lack of surprise was simply because it was a poor choice for comparison.

From what he could see, there were stacks of luggage in the corner of the room. They were packed and ready for travel, and not by Sebas. The preparations had been completed by the only other person in the room.

"I'll tidy up the rest."

"What are you saying, lord Sebas? How could I possibly inconvenience you any further?"

The girl who raised her head to answer him was one of the battle maids of Pleiades — Solution Epsilon.

"Really now? But I am playing the role of your butler now, am I not?"

There was a mischievous grin on Sebas's wrinkled face.

After seeing Sebas's smile, Solution's face changed for the first time, to an uncomfortable smile.

"Indeed, you are my butler for now. However, I am also your subordinate, lord Sebas."

"...Well, that's true, then, as your superior, I shall issue an order to you: your tasks are complete, and it is my turn to work. Rest here until we set out."

"...Yes. Thank you."

"Then, I shall go meet lady Shalltear on the coach and inform her when we are leaving. She must be getting tired of waiting."

Sebas easily lifted up one of the biggest pieces of luggage before suddenly speaking, as though he had just thought of something.

"Speaking of which, is he moving as we expected?"

"Yes, all is proceeding as predicted."

Solution pressed the skin which covered her tightly-shut eye.

"That's good to hear. Then, what's his situation?"

"Yes — currently, he is meeting with a dishevelled-looking man. Do you wish to hear what they are saying?"

"There is no need for that. I'll be moving the luggage, so give me a summary report afterwards."

"Understood."

Solution's face suddenly twisted.

The corners of her eyes dropped while her mouth curved upwards. While it vaguely resembled a smile, the contortions required to produce such an expression would be impossible for a human being to achieve. Perhaps it would be better to describe it as a distorted face made of clay.

"—Ah, that's right. Lord Sebas, please permit me to change the topic."

"What is it, Solution?"

"...After all this is over, may I dispose of that man?"

Sebas freed up a hand to stroke his moustache and considered the matter.

"—Only with lady Shalltear's permission. However, if she allows it, you may do as you please."

Solution's forehead furrowed slightly, the disappointment on her face speaking for herself. As though to comfort her, Sebas continued speaking:

"It'll be fine. Giving you one human should not be a problem."

"Is that so? I understand. Then, please tell lady Shalltear that I would like that man, if possible."

Solution was all smiles. That sunny, cheerful expression would entrance anyone who saw it.

Sebas simultaneously pitied and wanted to know more about the man who could put a look like that on Solution's face. Therefore, he asked her:

"What did that man say?"

"Oh, something about 'I can't wait to have fun with her,' so since these chances are hard to come by, I intend to have fun with him as well."

Solution's smile beamed ever brighter.

That smile — as innocent as a child's — looked forward to what would come next.

A pitiful life.

As Zack moved with hurried steps, he thought about how pitiful his life had been.

He had been born to a farmer's family in a village of the Kingdom. It could not be considered a happy life by any stretch of the word.

The fruits of their hard labor were taken away by the lord of the land. If he took sixty percent of their harvest, it might still be bearable. They could still live on the remaining forty percent, albeit in poverty.

However, if he took eighty percent of their harvest, they would be in big trouble. It was hard enough to survive on forty percent of the crops. If they only had twenty percent left, their lives would be extremely difficult.

During that year when they had only been allowed to keep twenty percent of their harvest, Zack returned home, exhausted from a day of hard fieldwork, and found that his little sister was missing.

At that time, Zack was young and did not know what was going on. His beloved little sister had disappeared, yet his parents had not gone looking for her. Zack understood now that she had probably been sold off. Slavery was now outlawed through the efforts of the "Golden Princess," but at that time it had been quite widespread throughout the Kingdom.

Therefore, whenever Zack went whoring and passed a hooker, he could not help but look at the girl's face. Of course, he did not think he would actually be able to find his little sister, and even if he did find her, he did not know what he would say to her. Even so, he could not help but keep looking.

And amidst this miserable life of poverty, he had been conscripted.

The Kingdom periodically mobilized its armies against the Empire, and when it did so, the Kingdom would round up all the able-bodied men in the villages and send them to the battlefield. The absence of their strong young men for a month had dire consequences for the villages. However, some people were grateful for this conscription.

After all, the less mouths to feed, the less food the families would need. In addition, the young conscripts would be fed by the Kingdom. For some, it might be the first time they had ever eaten their fill.

Still, that was all the merit that situation held. No matter how hard a man fought, he would not be rewarded unless he had made outstanding accomplishments. No, sometimes these men would not be rewarded no matter what they did. Only the lucky would be rewarded. Then, when they returned to their villages, they still had to face the despondent reality that the harvest was poor, because there had been too few hands to take it in.

Zack had been conscripted twice, but his third tour of duty had seen his fortunes change.

That war had been the same as all the others, ending after a few minor skirmishes. Zack, who had held onto his life, was about to head home when he stopped. He looked at the weapon in his hand, and it was as though he had received a sign from the heavens.

Instead of returning to his village, would it not be better to choose a different way of life?

Still, Zack was a mere farmer with just a bit of basic training. He had little choice in what sort of new life he could lead.

He did not possess exceptional physical abilities, nor did he possess a talent, a special ability that was only possessed by a few special people. His learning was largely related to farming — when to sow which seeds and so on.

What Zack decided to do pertained to the sole trump card he possessed; in other words, running away with the weapon that the Kingdom had temporarily issued him. He had not considered the difficulties it would cause for his parents because they had sold off his little sister — even if it was to keep the rest of the family alive — and thus he did not love his parents.

But how could someone who did not know the land or have any backers desert so easily? In the end, he managed to find people to help him, which was fortunate, in a sense.

The people who aided him in deserting were a band of sellswords.

Of course, a farmer like Zack was hardly of any use to a mercenary band. However, the band had lost many of its members during the war, and their aim was to replenish their numbers as soon as possible.

This was the reason why the mercenary band let him join so easily. However, they were not a proper, law-abiding organization. While they fought as mercenaries in wartime, during peacetime they were essentially bandits.

After that, Zack led a life filled with unspeakable deeds.

Having was better than not having. Taking was better than being taken from. Making others weep was better than weeping himself

This was the life Zack lived.

He did not feel it was wrong, nor did he regret it.

His faith in that grew ever deeper every time he heard the wails of the oppressed.

Zack ran through the pauper's district. He ran toward a world that was a deeper red than the setting sun.

Having run continuously ever since leaving the inn, he was panting heavily and his forehead was covered in sweat. His building fatigue made him want to stop, and he wondered if he should take a break. However, time was tight, and so Zack spurred his tired body forward and continued running.

Just then, as Zack took a sharp turn—

"That was close~" mumbled the figure on the other side of the corner as it somersaulted away, accompanied by the clattering of metal.

A startled Zack looked at the black shape which had leapt clear.

She was a pretty girl. She wore a black cape which made her seem to blend into the shadows, but her shiny purple eyes, filled with curiosity, were looking straight at Zack.

Tired and out of patience, Zack yelled at her.

"That's my line! It's dangerous! Watch where you're going!"

The girl did not seem afraid of Zack's ranting. Instead, she smiled coldly.

That spine-chilling smile made Zack retreat instinctively, without the courage to so much as draw his weapon. It was like a lion glaring at a mouse.

Perhaps the sound of metal he heard when the girl had leapt back came from the armor she was wearing.

An armed and armored girl — perhaps she was an adventurer.

He had picked the wrong person to antagonize.

Danger sirens blared through Zack's head, and at the same time he thought of something.

He did not look down on her as weak because she was a woman. Zack knew that there was an adventurer team composed purely of strong women. The strongest man in the mercenary band he belonged to had brought it up once.

On the other hand, Zack might have been a mercenary, but he was one of the weakest members of their fighting men. This was why he had been given a job like this.

He was covered in sweat from running, and as Zack began regretting what he had done, it quickly became another type of sweat altogether.

Just as a look of fear completely covered Zack's face, the girl's smile lost its frightening quality.

"Hm~ Ah well, forget it. I don't have time for this. Still, if I run into you again, you're going to have a bad time~"

The girl went around him, leaving those words behind. Interested, Zack turned to watch as she left. He mused that the place in front of him was an uninhabited part of the pauper's district.

What was a beautiful woman doing out here so late? The thought piqued his curiosity, but he had something more important waiting for him, so he cut his introspection short and moved on.

Soon, he arrived in the pauper's district, at a corner which was filled with many run-down houses. He looked around to see if anyone was following him.

The sun slowly sank beneath the horizon, painting the world in shades of black, so Zack focused on whether anyone was hiding in dark corners. He had already checked several times before now, but just to be safe, he took one last look.

Zack nodded in satisfaction, and as he got his breathing under control, he knocked thrice on a door. After waiting five seconds, he knocked four more times.

After giving the prearranged signal, he received an immediate response. The creaking of wood came from the other side of the door, and the wooden shutter which blocked the peephole slid out of the way. Zack could see a man's eyes on the other side of the door, looking him up and down and verifying his identity.

"It's you. Ah, wait a minute."

Without waiting for Zack's reply, the man slid the peephole shut, and that sound was followed by that of a heavy lock disengaging. The door cracked open slightly.

"Come in."

There was a faint scent of rot coming from within the room, which was as far removed from the place Zack had been as the heavens were from the earth. Hoping that his nose could get used to the smell, Zack nimbly wriggled into the room.

Once the door shut, he saw that the interior was tiny and dark.

The door led directly to the kitchen and dining room, which was furnished with a table. There was a candle on the table, whose feeble light somewhat dispelled the darkness of the room.

A filthy man who looked like he dealt in violence for a living pulled up a nearby chair and took a seat. The chair creaked as he sat on it, as though moaning in pain. The man was heavily muscled and had a barrel chest, and the exposed parts of his arms and his face were lightly scarred. The chair looked like it was going to give way under his weight.

"Oh, Zack. What's wrong, what happened?"

"There's been a change in the situation… The prey is preparing to move."

"Ah — so we'll have to make our move as well."

Zack nodded silently. The man quietly grumbled, "Why now… can't they think of us a little?" as he reached up to scratch his messy hair.

"Can't you delay them somehow?"

"That'll be difficult, because it was that woman's request."

The man had already heard Zack talk about that woman several times, and he frowned deeply.

"That old man should use his brains a little and try to talk her down. The roads at night are nasty places to be, with scary bandits showing up and all. Give me a break… even an idiot knows about that sort of thing. Ah, how about sabotaging a coach wheel and dragging out the departure until tomorrow?"

"That won't work — he's already loading the luggage. It would be better to act quickly, right?"

"Mm, that's true…"

The man stared into the air as he thought.

"Then, when are they moving out?"

"In about two hours."

"That'll be cutting it really close. Ah — what should I do. I'll need to contact the others after this… with only two hours… it'll be hard, but they're prize catches…"

The man twiddled his thumbs as he considered how much time the entire process would take. Zack simply listened to his musings in silence, looking down at his hands.

"Rich people like that piss you off, right…"

Zack thought of the delicate, dainty hands of the girl who was addressed as the Young Mistress.

Nobody who worked on a farm would have hands as pretty as that. Their skin was split from icy water and thickened by swinging a hoe, and even their nails grew gnarled. A farmer's hands were like that.

He knew well that the world was unfair. However—

The corner of Zack's mouth twisted up in a lewd smile that bared his teeth.

"Can I have some fun with that woman?"

"You'll have to wait for us to finish first, and since we're going to ransom her off, you can't go too far! Don't hurt her too badly."

The man sneered in lasciviously. Perhaps it was because of his rising desire, but he suddenly got to his feet.

"All right, we'll do it. I'll contact the chief."

"Got it."

"We'll send about ten guys ahead to the usual place to ambush them. You should move too and get them there in about four hour's time. If you haven't arrived by then, we'll make the first move. So keep the prey obedient and lower their guard."

A stagecoach galloped away from the Fortress City.

It was a large vehicle that could comfortably seat six people, pulled by a quartet of horses.

The disc of the full moon shone in the night sky, illuminating the land with surprising brightness. That said, racing at full speed through the night was still a foolish course of action. The wisest course of action would have been to pitch tents, light lanterns, and post sentries while they spent the night here.

The world at night was not under mankind's control. No, that would not be entirely accurate — no place without light could be considered part of humanity's world. The night concealed all manner of animals, demihumans, and monsters. Many creatures possessed the gift of darkvision, and these creatures often attacked humanity.

Still, the passengers on the stagecoach barely felt their vehicle galloping through the perilous night.

This was not because of good shock absorbers or the like, but because the coach was travelling along a cobblestoned road.

The paving of roads had begun after the suggestion of the "Golden Princess," but the only places where it had been completed were in those demesnes held by the Crown and by Marquis Raeven, one of the Six Great Nobles. This was because the other nobles protested this gesture, feeling that such roads would only benefit the Empire when they attacked the Kingdom.

The maintenance costs for those roads had also sparked much debate. The reason why Princess Renner had reached out to traders to foot the bill was because the nobles in charge of the areas through which the roads passed were dragging their feet on the matter. Thus, the paving work was in this sad state of affairs.

Since this region was not too far from E-Rantel — which was administered by the Crown — the work here was of quite a high standard.

Still, it was not perfect. The wagon wobbled a little as it travelled along the street, and some faint vibrations made their way to the passengers.

These tremors terminated the conversation between the occupants of the vehicle.

Among these occupants were Sebas, with Solution by his side. Opposite him was Shalltear, flanked by two of the Vampire Brides who were her minions-concubines. Zack was obviously driving the wagon from the driver's seat.

A brief silence filled the air inside the wagon, and then at great length, Sebas spoke to break it:

"There is one thing I have been meaning to ask you for a while."

"Mm? What do you have in mind?"

"I noticed that you and lady Aura do not get along very well. Is there any particular reason for that?"

"...really, I thought that got along fine."

As Shalltear answered quietly, she stared at the nail of her pinky finger, as though bored.

The pearly-white fingernail was about two centimeters long. Although she had a file in hand, the nail looked quite neatly trimmed, so there was no need to work further on it. Shalltear also felt that further action was unnecessary, so she tossed the file to one of the Vampire Brides by her side.

"It does not seem that way," Sebas continued. Shalltear's face wrinkled up, like she had eaten something bitter, and then she replied:

"I… I think we do get along. I simply tease her a little because my creator, lord Peroroncino, designed me to feud with her. Still, there is no real enmity there. Perhaps lady Bukubukuchagama designed that girl to not get along with me as well."

Shalltear waved her hand, as though she were very bored, and then met Sebas's gaze for the first time.

"Speaking of which, my creator lord Peroroncino and that elf creator — lady Bukubukuchagama — were elder sister and younger brother. So in that sense, she and I are also sisters."

"A sibling relationship — I see!"

"In the past, lord Peroroncino discussed the matter with other Supreme Beings — lord Luci Fer and lord Nishiki Enrai — when they came to my domain."

A look of reverence crept into Shalltear's eyes as she recounted her memories of accompanying these exalted personages.

"Lord Peroroncino once mentioned that lady Bukubukuchagama had the profession of a seiyuu. So popular was she that she even lent her talents to things called 'aerogays,' so whenever he purchased a game he eagerly anticipated, he would end up thinking of his sister's face and he would lose his motivation."

Shalltear added that she did not know what he meant by that. A somewhat baffled Sebas tilted his head and said:

"A seiyuu… I remember that seems to be a line of work which involves the use of sound. It seems they are skilled in singing, so perhaps it should be similar to a bard."

After hearing Sebas's answer, Shalltear laughed, like the tinkling of silver bells, and replied in the negative:

"That is not the case."

"It is not? How so?"

"I once heard lady Bukubukuchagama say that being a seiyuu meant giving a soul through sound. In other words, a seiyuu is a job which creates life."

"Ohhh! I see. It seems I was laboring under a grave misconception. Thank you very much for your correction, lady Shalltear."

Sebas and all the others created by the Supreme Beings were infused with knowledge upon their creation, but that was all they had. Because they did not know real life, amusing mishaps sometimes occurred; like say, making a mistake about their revered masters' jobs.

Feeling terribly uncomfortable, Sebas muttered to himself, engraving the meaning of being a seiyuu into his heart so he would not make the same mistake again.

"There's no need to take it to heart… ah, right, Sebas, since we are fellow travellers, there's no need to be so formal."

"Is that so, lady Shalltear?"

"Don't address me as lady… we are all servants of the Supreme Beings. They may have handed down our positions and set some of us over others, but the truth is that we're all basically the same."

She had the right of it. Solution was only obeying Sebas because she had been ordered to do so. Originally, she and Sebas were of the same status.

"I understand, Shalltear. Then, I shall address you in this way from now on."

"That's good to hear. Come to think of it, you don't get along with Demiurge either, do you?"

Sebas remained silent. Shalltear narrowed her eyes, like a playful child, and continued asking:

"The Supreme Beings did not design you that way, so why is that?"

"...I wonder. The truth is, I don't know why that is the case as well. It must be some sort of instinct that makes me dislike him. However the same should apply to him as well."

"Hmm — it doesn't seem that way to me… still, it might be because the feelings of our creators, the Supreme Beings, were deeply engraved within our hearts."

"That is very likely to be the case."

Shalltear carefully studied Sebas, who nodded to her. Then, after considering his position, Shalltear felt that he would know the answer to the question which had long hidden in her heart:

"What kind of people are found in the Eighth Floor? I know about Victim, but who else is there besides him?"

Sebas frowned at the sudden query. He looked at Shalltear, a stern expression on his face, trying to discern what she was up to. From where she was seated to the side, Solution's expression changed as well, though it was subtle enough that the others did not notice.

"...In the past, there were fools who defied the Supreme Beings and invaded Nazarick, breaching the defenses of the Seventh Floor. However, they did not reach the Ninth Floor, where the Supreme Beings resided. That being the case, they must have been stopped at the Eighth Floor, right? Though I do not have any recollection of the event, the opposition must have brought fearsome fighting power with them to make it that far, so I believe they were halted with equally extraordinary might. However, I have no idea who intercepted the intruders. No, Albedo should know. After all, she is the Guardian Overseer of Nazarick. It would be strange if she did not know that."

As though ignoring the silent Sebas, Shalltear continued asking:

"...It's kind of annoying to hear she's one step ahead of me. What sort of mysterious beings are found on the Eighth Floor? Characters personally crafted by lord Ainz, perhaps?"

Sebas was made by Touch Me. Demiurge was made by Ulbert Alain Odle. Cocytus was made by Warrior Takemikazuchi. However, even Shalltear did not know what sort of NPC that Ainz — or Momonga, the highest-ranked of the Forty One Supreme Beings — had created.

Surely he had created somebody, right?

That being the case, it was reasonable to conclude that this mysterious character resided on the Eighth Floor, about which Shalltear had no knowledge.

"...No, that should not be the case. This is just a rumor, but I heard that the NPC lord Ainz created is called Pandora's Actor, and his strength is comparable to the rest of us Guardians. Apparently, he defends the depths of the Treasury."

"Does someone like that really exist?"

Unlike Albedo, Shalltear had not been infused with knowledge about everyone in Nazarick. Therefore, this name was new to her.

Granted, the Treasury was a place which one could only enter with the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, but it would be strange to leave it unguarded.

The depths of the Treasury.

All of the highest-end magic items that Ainz Ooal Gown had collected were stored in there. It was also said that it contained several World-Class Items. That being the case, it was the most suitable location for the NPC created by one of the greatest of the Forty One Supreme Beings, Ainz, to defend.

Shalltear's pride was somewhat bruised as she considered that she had not been chosen to guard such exalted ground, but she consoled herself with the thought that it was unavoidable. To Shalltear, keeping intruders from straying beyond the Third Floor was also a crucial task, every bit as important as protecting the Treasury.

And now, her masters had given her another vital task.

"Indeed, but I have not seen that person before. After all, one cannot travel to that place without a Ring."

"Oh…"

Shalltear's answer was devoid of energy, as though she had lost all interest in the whole thing. However, Sebas did not seem to mind.

"Still, the Eighth Floor is a mysterious place… it's kind of a shame."

"Indeed. After all, it is a place that even we cannot enter. There must be something inside."

"And what exactly is that something?"

"Could it be there's a trap in there which might even attack us?"

"Mm, that's not a bad idea, though if I had to guess… could it be a deathtrap that indiscriminately kills anyone who enters it?"

"The Great Tomb of Nazarick was hand-crafted by the Supreme Beings, and defended by us, who have pledged our lives in service. Anyone who could penetrate an impregnable fortress like that and breach the Seventh Floor would probably not be stopped by a trap like that…"

"Do you want to take a look?"

Shalltear had a smile on her face, like a child up to some mischief. Sebas's smile was the same as always, but there was a certain nuance to it now.

"Do you intend to defy the supreme ones order?"

"Just kidding, just kidding. It was just a joke, no need to look so scary."

"Shalltear… curiosity killed the cat. We should wait quietly until one of the supreme ones tells us otherwise."

"You've got a point there… then, has our prey taken the bait?"

Sebas did not ask about the sudden change in topic. Instead he directly replied:

"Yes, they've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. All we need to do is reel them in."

Shalltear nodded slightly, and then she lightly licked her lips. Her crimson pupils blazed.

Sebas immediately realized what would put Shalltear in a mood like that. Sensing that this was the perfect time to do so, he decided to bring up Solution's request from earlier.

"I have a request to make concerning this matter, Shalltear."

"...What is it?"

The reply was one of annoyance, given that Sebas had jolted Shalltear out of her delight over what was soon to unfold. As though to comfort her, Sebas continued:

"Could you give the driver of our coach to this girl?"

"...Is he an underling?"

"Indeed. He seems to be a messenger of sorts."

Shalltear closed her eyes and pondered the request. After considering several possibilities, she seemed to have come to a conclusion, and she nodded.

"That should be fine. Besides, he doesn't look like he'd taste good if I fed on him."

"You have my sincerest thanks for your generosity, Shalltear."

"Thank you, lady Shalltear."

"Ah, you're welcome, think nothing of it."

Shalltear was quite surprised by how tenderly Solution smiled to her. She had not expected such a sincere expression. Then, Shalltear composed herself and turned to Sebas.

"Then, we're even for that little mistake of mine just now."

"I understand… In truth, I didn't expect you to do anything quite as foolish as that. It was merely a jest, was it not?"

"Indeed, you're right. If you had said such a thing, Sebas, I would have taken it as a joke as well. Then I would have my subordinates watch you in silence. At the first sight of any treachery on your part, I would remove your limbs and have your torso dragged in chains before the supreme beings."

"I'm hardly as ruthless as you are, Shalltear."

"No? Things like that only make me doubt your loyalty more, you would do that too, wouldn't you?"

Sebas and Shalltear locked eyes, and smiled from the bottoms of their hearts.

"Well, there might be a different sort of entertainment in giving him to Solution."

"—Then, how do you intend to capture them? Through 「Paralysis」 or 「Hold Person」?"

Before they had set out for E-Rantel, Karna had given Sebas an order: "I want to capture humans who know martial arts or magic. However, you will only go after criminals whose absence will go unnoticed."

Therefore, Solution and Sebas had played the role of a stuck-up, stubborn heiress and her easily-bamboozled butler, with the intention of hooking a fish like Zack.

Shalltear's mission, on the other hand, was to use a fish like that to net the entire school which followed him.

"Why would I go to such great lengths? Lord Karna did say that it was all right to drain them dry and turn them into slaves. The important thing was that I absolutely had to capture them. Still… investigating them all one by one would be a hassle, so I might as well just suck them dry."

Sebas did not speak the words in his heart — "I see," — but instead nodded. Still, he had to acknowledge that he was not entirely comfortable with Shalltear's interpretation of her orders. With that in mind, Sebas could not help but say:

"From that point of view, Demiurge would be the most suitable for that sort of work. After all, he can control his opponent's thoughts, much like Aura can with her breath."

Demiurge possessed a skill known as 「Command Mantra」. It was a powerful mind-affecting ability which would be invaluable during a capture operation like this.

"...Hah?" Shalltear exclaimed in an unbelievably low tone.

The mood within the coach turned grim immediately, as though a fog of bone-chilling cold hung in the air.

Even the horses pulling the coach seemed to have sensed this, because the vehicle suddenly lurched. The bloodless faces of the Vampire Brides flanking Shalltear turned even paler than usual, while Solution shuddered in her place beside Sebas. Even Sebas, whose might should have been on par with Shalltear, could feel goosebumps breaking out on him.

This was the murderous intent emitted by the strongest of Nazarick's Floor Guardians. The hostility which wreathed her made her previous spats with Aura seem like child's play. If the situation was mishandled, it might lead to a life-or-death melee.

As Shalltear chilled the air ever further, the color of her crimson pupils began to spill out into her sclera, dying her eyes red as though they were filling with blood.

"Sebas, could you say that again? Or are you saying that a Dragonoid like yourself, in that form, wants to —"

Her eyeballs — now completely red — twitched:

"—start a fight with me?"

"I misspoke, please forgive me. I was merely a little uneasy. It would be fine as long as your 「Blood Frenzy」 doesn't kick in."

Shalltear's response was silence.

Sebas could tell that the brief silence was a sign of her unease toward herself.

In YGGDRASIL, strong classes were typically balanced out with weaknesses and penalties. One of the penalties Shalltear suffered from was called「Blood Frenzy」. The more fresh blood that covered her body, the greater her urge to slaughter. While this made her stronger, in return she would no longer be able to control her actions.

The reason why Karna had made use of Shalltear for this mission — who might have ended up ignoring orders or even going berserk — was due to a process of elimination.

Albedo had to remain in the Great Tomb of Nazarick in the three supreme beings absence, and among the two remaining Guardians — Shalltear and Cocytus — Shalltear looked more like a human being from a distance.

After that, Shalltear took several deep breaths. She seemed to be trying to suck her anger back up, or perhaps she was trying to quell the uneasiness in her heart.

With her last breath, Shalltear resumed her normal expression — an attractive young girl with a seductive air about her — and her pupils returned to their original color.

"...For the most part, they'll become my slaves after I drain their blood, which should make things simple. Besides, we don't need to bring them back alive. Lord Karna brought it up before as well. Also, I will definitely keep my 「Blood Frenzy」 under control."

Vampires were a species which could drain a victim's blood and turn them into perfectly loyal minions. Most Vampires could only create unintelligent Lesser Vampires in this way, but the Vampires which Shalltear could make had nearly as much intelligence as a normal human.

As long as one did not care if the prey was alive or dead, Shalltear qualified as quite a good hunter, although the number of Vampires she could create was limited.

"That's right, so there's no need to say more. I will accomplish the mission the supreme ones gave me without fail, so they will praise me with 'Well done, Shalltear, you are our most important slave,' and then say, 'You are the one most worthy of standing by our side.'"

"Please forgive my shallow comments."

Sebas's apology was sincere and came from the heart. It was not just directed to Shalltear, but to someone else.

"I did not realize that my statements were a slight on lord Karna and lord Ainz, who chose you for this task, and I apologize for that as well. I hope you will forgive me for displeasing you."

Then, he bowed to Solution and the Vampire Brides in apology — just then, the coach shuddered, and they heard neighing from the horses which drew the vehicle.

"...It seems we have stopped."

"Indeed."

Shalltear — lost as she was in fantasies of the praise her master would lavish on her once she succeeded in her task — returned to her senses. She smiled, like a girl who had just thought up a wonderful prank to play. Sebas too was stroking his moustache as he smiled.

About ten strong men had emerged from the forest, forming a semicircle around the coach. None of these men were equipped in exactly the same way. Still, while they were not masterworks, their equipment was not of poor make. It was clear that they had hand-picked their weapons.

The casual way in which they were discussing how to deal with their target and the order in which they would go sounded like they already had their prey in the bag. Indeed, they had done this sort of thing countless times in the past. It would be strange if they had felt worried.

After Zack leapt off the driver's seat, he jogged over to the men who had appeared.

While dismounting from the driver's seat, he had cut the reins so the coach would not be able to drive off, and after monkeying with the coach doors, they would only open on the side facing the men.

The men brandished their weapons so their prey could see. This was a wordless warning: if they did not come out quickly, they would be in trouble.

In response, the coach doors slowly opened.

A beautiful woman revealed herself under the moonlight. The gathered sellswords and bandits laughed coarsely and looked at her with lustful eyes. It was clear from their expressions that they were delighted.

However, one person among them was taken aback. That person was Zack.

His surprise could be summarized in three words: "Who is this?" Zack had never seen this beauty before. However, the coach was very familiar to him, and the contrast between the two plunged Zack into confusion and left him speechless.

After that, another beautiful woman appeared, dressed much like the first. Doubt began blooming on the men's faces. Their targets should have been an heiress who did not know how the world worked, as well as an old butler.

And then, a girl who might have been considered "little" showed up, and their doubts vanished.

Her silvery hair gleamed in the moonlight, and her dewy, crimson eyes held a seductive radiance.

The bandits could only gasp at the sight of these beauties, unable to so much as muster up the words for praise. In this moment, even their bestial lust shrank away in the face of true beauty.

Shalltear smiled lewdly as she bathed in the enthralled gazes of the men. She advanced unguardedly before them and said:

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming all this way here for me. May I know who is your leader? May I negotiate with him?"

After seeing the bandits look toward the same person, Shalltear learned what she needed to know. That was to say, everyone else here was expendable.

"You… what do you want to talk about?"

The man who looked like their leader seemed to have come to his senses after his close encounter with these beautiful women. He strode forward.

"Ahh, please forgive the misunderstanding. What I meant by 'negotiations' was just a joke for me to learn what I needed to know. Sorry about that."

"Who are you people…"

Shalltear looked to Zack, who had asked that question.

"You must be that Zack fellow. I will give you to Solution as promised, so could you please step aside for a while?"

Some of the bandits sought an answer for their confusion in each other's faces. However, among them—

"Hmph, you've got a good body for a brat. I'll make you cry for me in a bit."

The bandit who happened to be standing in front of Shalltear reached out to grope that ample bust of hers, which did not match her age.

And then — the appendage tumbled to the ground.

"Could you not touch me with your filthy hand?"

The dumbfounded man looked at his now handless arm, and after a moment's delay, he wailed:

"Ahhhhhhhh! My, my haaaaaaaand—!"

"You're making so much noise over losing a single hand. Are you even a man?"

Shalltear casually flicked her hand as she muttered quietly, and the man's head fell to the earth as well.

How had she chopped his head off with her unarmed, dainty, and slender hands? The nightmare before them hardly seemed real. The bandits were terrified beyond all capacity for rational thought, unable to react in the wake of this tremendous shock. However, what they saw next snapped them back to their senses.

The fresh blood spurting from the severed portions of the body moved as though it had a will of its own, gathering above Shalltear's head and forming an orb of blood.

Shalltear and company knew this was the effect of the skill called 「Blood Pool」. However, the first thing these clueless bandits thought as they saw this inhuman ability was:

"She's a magic caster!"

Anyone who understood magic should have been able to give a more accurate warning. "Magic caster" is a very broad term which referred to many professions and jobs, and the means of dealing with them were just as varied. In particular, one might think of Shalltear — who only wore a dress — as an arcane magic caster, or perhaps a spiritual magic caster. However, none of them spoke a warning like that. One could thus conclude that none of them knew anything about magic. In other words, they thought of anything they could not understand as magic.

As Shalltear realised this, she looked disinterestedly at these panicking bandits, who desperately raised their swords against her.

"How boring. Clean this mess up. Also, leave this one and that one… understood?"

"Yes, lady Shalltear."

The Vampire Brides waiting behind Shalltear on either side stepped forward, and one of them punched the face of a bandit trying to attack Shalltear, sending him flying.

It looked as though someone had swung a metal pole into his face with all their strength.

The bandits arced through the air, accompanied by the sound of something like a filled balloon popping. All manners of bodily fluids — blood, brain matter, and more — burst forth from his skull. The gore gleamed under the moonlight, looking all the more beautiful for its horrific appearance.

More than half of the bandit's head went flying, and pinkish brains sprayed from the shattered cranium. Pulled by gravity, the bandit's corpse rolled to the ground with a great thud. That sound was a starting bell which filled the bandits with terror, and Shalltear with delight.

Zack smiled softly as he watched the scene in front of him.

It was a truly horrific sight.

He wanted to vomit as he smelled the blood which came from the carnage before him.

Men had their hands and feet torn off like scraps of paper, and skulls popped between paired hands like ripe pomegranates.

A breastplate was ripped off and a hand stabbed into the now-exposed belly. When it came back out, it took several meters of gleaming, slippery intestine with it. The fact that the victim was still alive after that spoke of the resilience of mankind.

A man was squirming on the ground, trying to flee even with both legs broken. White-colored objects — his broken bones — protrude through his skin and flesh. He was desperately trying to crawl away with his hands, struggling to get himself away from the source of this horror, wanting to stay alive for just one moment longer.

The beautiful girl looked at the man grovelling at her feet, and her shrill laugh grated at him.

How had things ended up like this...

Zack thought as hard as he could.

No matter how one tried to cloak it in politeness, the world still ran on the principle of the strong feeding on the weak. It was utterly natural for the strong to oppress the weak. After all, Zack had been doing so himself. However, was it right for the strong to go so far and do so much?

Of course not. He could not accept their cruel methods of killing. Then, what should he do? The enemy was simply choosing not to attack him, so if he tried to flee, they would probably do something to him to make him not dare to escape again. Something painful and nausea-inducing, for instance.

Zack felt for his hidden shortsword through his clothing.

Why was his sword so small? How could it possibly stand up to these monsters which could twist off men's arms so effortlessly?

What had he done to them? He had never thought of doing anything to those monsters.

Zack hugged himself, as though trying to conceal his presence. The rhythmic grinding of his teeth suddenly struck him as extremely grating — what would happen if those monsters heard it and went after him?

He tried to stop himself, but his teeth would not listen to him and continued grinding.

Speaking of which, what kind of people were they? Zack did not recognize them at all.

And just as he thought about that—

"Zack-san, come this way."

—A gentle, dulcet voice came from behind him, completely at odds with the cruel scenery in front of him.

Zack looked fearfully behind himself, and saw his employer standing before him.

Her expression did not match the haughty and argumentative heiress that he knew her for. If he had been calm enough, he might have felt suspicious about this, but Zack — who had been driven into confusion by this bizarre world and the stink of blood — had no energy left to suspect anything.

"What are those monsters!?" Zack wailed, his voice cracking, at Solution, the moneyed daughter of nobility who knew nothing of the world.

"Why didn't you tell me there were monsters like these around!?"

Indeed. If he had known about this beforehand, things would not have ended up like this. The bitch before him was responsible for the frightening scene before him.

"Don't keep quiet, speak up! Let's get this straight, this is all your fault!"

Anxiety and terror combined to impel him forward, and a furious Zack could no longer bear it. He reached out to grab Solution by the collar and roughly shook her.

"...I understand. Please follow me."

"You… are you going to save me!?"

"No, I simply wish to take this last chance to enjoy you."

An ivory-pale hand, cold as ice, gripped Zack's own, and then Solution stepped forward, pulling him away.

"Even though I already have permission, lord Sebas does not like this sort of thing, so I would rather do it at a distance."

He had no idea what she was talking about. However, Zack felt that if he alone was being led away, there might be a chance that he could survive.

Zack pretended not to hear the horrific screams from behind him.

That could not be helped. Zack was too weak. He could not possibly save those comrades of his which were supposed to be stronger than him.

"Please don't be too excited. If possible… I'd like you to be gentle with me. It would make me very happy."

Behind the coach, Solution spoke softly to Zack as she waved him over, then reached behind her back, as though to undo her dress. As Zack saw this, he stared with his mouth open; what was this woman up to? Zack looked at Solution like she was some sort of exotic creatures.

Solution's hands had not stopped at all during all this, and so thoroughly confused Zack asked:

"You… what are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

With that, Solution easily peeled off her figure-hugging bodice.

As though waiting for that moment, her tightly-bound breasts sprang forth. They were firm, springy globes, and her skin seemed vaguely translucent under the moonlight.

Zack gulped at the sight before him.

"Please."

Solution thrust her chest out, as though inviting him to fondle her.

"What do you want me to…"

Zack had forgotten himself as he fixated on the body before him.

She was beautiful. This was the most beautiful female body Zack had ever seen in his life.

Of all the girls Zack had partaken of, the most beautiful was one who belonged to a caravan which he had attacked. However, by the time it was Zack's turn, the girl was exhausted. She lay motionless, only spreading her legs like a frog. Still, it had not detracted from her beauty in the least.

However, the girl before him was even more beautiful, and she was not unresponsive like the other girl.

Desire lit the flames of Zack's lust, and the heat in his lower body began spreading out from his crotch. Panting like a dog, he reached out for Solution's body.

It felt like — like silk.

Zack could no longer hold himself back, and he seized the more shapely of Solution's breasts.

And then his entire hand sank into her.

Zack thought for a moment that her body was so soft that it felt as though his entire hand had gone into her. But as he looked at his hand, he realized that this was not the case.

Zack's hand had literally sunk into Solution's body.

"What… what the hell is this!?"

Zack screamed in surprise and tried to pull his hand back, but he could not budge it. Not only did it not move back, it was sucked further in. It seemed as though there were many writhing tentacles inside Solution which had latched onto Zack's hand and drew him in.

Solution's beautiful face did not change even under these strange circumstances. She simply watched Zack in silence. Her expression was that of a scientist watching as a lab animal was injected with some lethal chemical, blending a cold dispassion with curiosity and excitement.

"Oi, stop! Let go of me!"

Zack balled up his other hand into a fist and swung with all his strength at Solution's pretty face.

Once, twice, three times—

Zack swung at full force, punching heavily and not caring if his fist was injured. That beautiful face remained unmoved despite a grown man striking it with all his might. It did not seem to hurt her at all.

Instead, Zack was frightened by what he felt when he hit her.

That sensation was like punching a soft, filled waterskin. Under normal circumstances, there should have been some resistance to his punch, but he did not feel that he had struck bone at all. This was not how punching a human being should have felt.

The unreal scene of carnage behind him — forgotten due to his excitement — suddenly flashed through his mind.

Zack choked back the impulse to scream.

Eventually, it dawned upon him.

The woman baring her chest to him before his eyes was also a monster.

"Did you finally realize it? Then, let's begin the fun part, shall we?"

As she said that, a pain like the stabbing of hundreds of needles radiated from his stuck hand.

"Aaaahhhhh!"

"I am now dissolving your hand."

Zack could not understand these cold words through the agony which gripped him. This was no longer in the realm of his comprehension.

"The truth is, I deeply enjoy watching things dissolve. Therefore, I felt it was a happy coincidence that you wanted to be inside me, Zack-san."

"Giiiihh—! You damn monster, go to hell!"

Fighting back the pain, Zack drew his shortsword as he shouted at her. Then, he forcefully stabbed at Solution's pretty face, and her body quivered.

"Take that!"

However, Zack immediately realized that he had been far too hasty.

What good would stabbing the surface of a lake with a shortsword do? It would merely make more ripples, and that was what happened.

Solution turned to look at Zack, still with a short sword sticking out of her face, and then she gently said:

"I'm sorry, but I am resistant to physical attacks, so a blow like that cannot harm me. Then, I shall dissolve it."

An acrid stench seared his nose, and within seconds, the shortsword fell from Solution's face, its blade half-dissolved. Just as she had said, her beautiful, unmarred visage lay before his eyes.

"Who the hell are you!?"

The agony in his hand was slowly spreading up the rest of his arm, but the fear of impending death overrode his pain, and Zack asked his question even as tears brimming in his eyes.

However, the answer made him want to stuff his fingers in his ears to deny it.

"I am a predatory Slime. Since time is limited, I will need to swallow you up."

Zack's arms were pulled into Solution's body. So forceful was the suction that Zack could not resist it, even if he were capable of doing so.

"Stop stop stop stop stop! Spare me, spare me, spare me please!"

Zack cried and begged, but the force drawing him into Solution's body was still very strong, enough that a human being could not resist it. His arms, his shoulders, all of them were steadily devoured by her body.

"Lilia!"

With that last scream, Zack's face was sucked into Solution's body.

And so, Zack was swallowed whole, as though he were a python's prey.

After a few minutes had passed, there were no longer any survivors. The place was one which reeked of a foul stench.

No, one man still survived. He worked his tongue as he squatted near Shalltear's feet, licking her high-heeled shoes clean of the brain matter which had spattered them after she had playfully crushed a bandit's skull underfoot.

Shalltear looked on her now-cleaned heels in satisfaction.

"Well done. Then, in accordance with our agreement, I shall not take your life."

The man, his frightened features scrunched up into a ball, looked up at Shalltear with a grateful expression on his face and kowtowed repeatedly to her in thanks. Shalltear looked lovingly upon this puppy-like man, and then snapped her fingers.

"Drain him."

Once the two Vampire Brides came to his side, the man finally understood what those words meant.

"The undead are technically still alive, so I was not lying to you."

The Vampire Brides bit eagerly into him, and Shalltear looked out of the corner of her eye at the man as his life-force was drained away from him. She turned to Solution — who was rearranging her messed-up collar as she emerged from the direction of the coach — and said:

"Oh, is it over?"

"Yes, I was quite satisfied. I am profoundly grateful to you for this."

"No need to stand on ceremony. We're all servants of Nazarick, after all. Speaking of which, did that human have fun?"

"He is currently enjoying himself. Would you like to see?"

"Hm? May I? Then, let me have a quick look."

A man's arm suddenly erupted from Solution's face, accompanied by a vile stench that stung the nose. The source of the odour was that arm. Its muscles were badly dissolved after being exposed to powerful acid, and the reaction of the blood from within the muscles and the acid created gouts of thick fumes.

The arm thrashed about like it had emerged from the surface of a lake, desperately struggling to find a grip on something. Juices flowed from the exposed muscles with every twitch.

"My apologies, I did not know he was still so full of energy."

Solution was a bizarre sight as she bowed in apology, what with the arm sticking out of her face. She then shoved the arm back into her face, smiling after the flailing arm had been completely swallowed up once more.

"It's amazing how you can swallow a man whole and look as though nothing had happened."

"Thank you for your praise. It is not outwardly visible because the interior of my body was originally empty. In addition, I have always been a creature like this, so this must be the effect of some sort of specialized magic."

"Oh~ Hm, this might be a bit nosy of me, but when will he die?"

"I could secrete a stronger acid to kill him immediately if you wish, but since a human who wishes to enter me is a rare occasion, I would like to let him enjoy it for an entire day."

"I didn't hear any screams, did you corrode him with acid?"

"No, I did not. If I dissolved his throat with acid, he might suffocate due to being unable to breathe. Therefore, I inserted part of my body into him to suppress his voice, and it also has the effect of preventing bad smells."

"I'm quite impressed by your attitude of paying close attention to your toys and playing with them for as long as possible. Incidentally, can you corrode specific places with your acids? For instance, only corroding a certain place?"

"Indeed, that is an easy task to accomplish. The proof of that are the scrolls, potions, and other magic items within my body, and the fact that those items are intact. I could move freely even if I were to take your body within mine, lady Shalltear, though I would have to ask that you did not move too much."

"Predatory slimes sure are amazing… mm. Do you want to play together next time?"

"That will be fine. Although… where do you plan to get the toys from?"

Shalltear smiled happily when she found Solution looking at the Vampire Brides behind her.

"Those girls aren't half bad, but I want to wait until someone tries to invade us and then plead with one of the supreme ones to give them to us."

"Then, please do not forget about my share. I would like to swallow them up to the chest and expose the rest of them. That ought to be quite interesting as well."

"Not bad. Do you get along with that interrogator?"

"Neuronist? The Special Intelligence-Gathering Officer? Regretfully, I cannot understand that person's aesthetic sense."

Shalltear planned to continue, but she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Solution, I've finished up over here. We can move out any time," Sebas called out from the driver's seat, having replaced the reins.

"Understood, I'm coming. Then, lady Shalltear, though it pains my heart to leave, allow me to bid you farewell."

Shalltear looked to Solution as she hurried back into the coach, and then to Sebas, who was seated at the driver's place.

"Then, we shall part ways for the time being, Sebas."

"Is that so… does this mean you have already discovered the bandits' hideout?"

"Indeed. We shall invade them afterwards and look for any interesting people who might know something which would please lord Karna. Otherwise this would have all been a waste of time."

"I see. It was a pleasure travelling with you, lady Shalltear."

"Thank you for that. Till we meet again in the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

"Oh, we'll be off, then—"

A pair of human shapes sprinted through the forest. They were Vampire Brides, Shalltear's minions-concubines.

The two of them ran at breakneck speeds along the beast paths of the forest, as though they were trying to cut through the vegetation. The terrain was atrocious, with branches and twigs jutting out from all sides. However, their dresses were not damaged in the slightest, and the high heels they wore easily pushed them over the terrible footing as they forged ever onward.

The leading Vampire Bride carefully cradled Shalltear, while the one behind her dragged something which looked like a dried out log.

They were not far from the place where they had parted ways with Sebas. Since they had no maps or the like, they had no idea how far they were from their destination, save that they would probably have to run a long way. However, the clanging of hard metal rang through the air, and the lead Vampire Bride immediately ground to a halt.

As the beast path was narrow, once the person in front stops, the person behind had to do so as well.

"Why did you stop?"

Just as the Vampire Bride in front was about to answer the question that had come from behind, she shuddered as the Mistress she was holding fixed her with a cold glare.

Pearls of cold sweat bloomed on her back, because she was deeply aware that her Mistress was not a kind or merciful person.

Shalltear, who was lounging in the Vampire Bride's arms — in other words, in a princess carry position — stretched her legs in annoyance.

The Vampire Bride sensed what that meant and released her.

As though escaping from a cage, Shalltear somersaulted out.

With a dextrous leap, she leapt into the air, and her high-heeled feet trod the ground beneath her. The dress she wore cascaded down to cover her legs.

Once on the ground, Shalltear flipped her hair in irritation and cricked her neck.

The Vampire Brides could not help but gulp as they noticed the frigid look in Shalltear's eyes.

"What's going on here?"

The reason Shalltear was not running in the forest was because she felt it was a bother, and because she did not want to dirty her shoes. There was another reason for that, but nobody here would speak it, or even think of doing so. Even in Nazarick, only a few people would dare to bring it up to her face.

Since they were now transportation tools, the Vampire Brides could not stop without instructions from Shalltear. She had no use for legs which moved on their own.

Depending on the reason that they disobeyed her commands, they might end up suffering terribly.

That was the message which Shalltear's eyes carried. No, it would be a mercy if pain was all that awaited them. There was murderous intent in her previous question.

In the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the lives and deaths of everyone other than the NPCs created by the Forty One Supreme Beings were at the disposal of the relevant Floor and Area Guardians. If they continued annoying Shalltear, they might be executed on the spot.

Knowing this, the Vampire Bride — who had the feeling that this might be her last will and testament — nervously began to speak:

"Forgive me, but I stepped into a bear trap."

Shalltear looked down, and saw that the jaws of a crude metal trap had snapped shut around the Vampire Bride's slender leg.

This was not a trap designed to deal with human beings, but wild bears, which were mighty and tough creatures. It could easily shatter the ankles of any human — even one wearing greaves — who stepped into it.

Of course, Vampire Brides were very different from human beings.

Even when pierced by the bear trap spikes, which were used to hobble animals, the Vampire Bride did not feel any pain or suffer broken bones. She did not appear to have been hurt at all.

Vampire Brides could resist damage from just about any physical damage apart from that inflicted by weapons made of silver or certain other special materials, or magic weapons bearing specific enchantments. Fortified with this damage reduction, there was no way that a simple steel bear trap could possibly injure her.

Still, while she was immune to its damage, the beartrap had fulfilled its other purpose of impeding their movement.

Since the trap was not coated in poison, it was clear that it was not intended to kill its prey. Its purpose was to impede its targets, slowing the opposition down by forcing them to deal with a casualty (burden).

Shalltear remained silent, but shook her head as though to say, It can't be helped.

"Get out of it, then."

"Yes! At once!"

Upon hearing Shalltear's command, the Vampire Bride reached out with her slender hands and promptly pulled apart the jaws of the trap. Unable to resist a strength which exceeded that of a bear, the trap gave its prey up.

The sight of a beautiful girl prying open a bear trap seemed surreal but anyone who knew the strength of a Vampire Bride would not find it strange.

"Still, the fact that there's a trap here suggests we're close to our destination. I thought we were still quite far away."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

Following that, the Vampire Bride at the rear dumped the log-like object she was carrying on the ground.

It was a human corpse, desiccated and mummified. However, she had not been carrying an ordinary cadaver. It possessed a false life, which it showed as it stirred into stiff activity.

Its arms resembled withered branches sprouting sharp claws, and points of crimson light glowed in its empty eye sockets, like a Vampire's. Abnormally sharp canines gleamed within its half-open mouth.

This was a monster called a Lesser Vampire.

It was all that remained of the bandit who had been exsanguinated by the Vampire Brides.

"Tell me, are we close to your hideout?"

The Lesser Vampire nodded deeply to its mistress, making a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a moan.

"—He says so, lady Shalltear."

"Is that so? Then why are there no linked traps?"

This should not have been all. There ought to have been noisemakers and backup traps to go with them. However, they had not spotted any such traps.

Shalltear looked around, probably checking to see if anyone was hiding nearby. The Vampire Brides began a visual search as well, until their mistress shook their head to indicate that they should stop.

"...Well, forget it. It's not like you have any detection abilities anyway..."

As they heard those mumbled words, the Vampire Brides realised why they had been forgiven.

The Vampire Brides — their mistress included — did not possess any trapfinding skills, which was why they had been allowed to live after failing to detect the beartrap. Perhaps their mistress felt that it was illogical to mete out punishment for failing to do something they could not have succeeded at in the first place.

"If I'd known, I would have borrowed that girl for this."

Solution had levels in assassin-type classes, and with her thief skills she could have easily discovered those traps.

"Meh, there's no point griping about something you don't have. Then, let's hurry up to the bandits' lair."

Soon, they had reached the sellswords' hideout. Though they were still in the forest, the trees were growing thin, and beyond this place there were no more trees, only an overgrown field littered with rocks.

This terrain was known as a karst.

There was a large hole in the center of a bowl-like depression, from which faint rays of light streamed out. Judging by the angle of the light, there must be a sloping path leading downward.

There were two shapes near the cave entrance. It was evident at a glance that they had been deliberately positioned there.

They were round wooden barricades reaching up to the height of a man's belly, though they were otherwise unremarkable. They were little more than a pile of wooden logs, but there was a sentry on each side.

It would seem the intention was to use the logs as cover from ranged attacks, so they could protect themselves if the enemy fired on them with bows and get inside to warn their comrades.

Under normal circumstances, launching a frontal attack from this distance would allow the bandits to prepare their weapons and send reinforcements from the cave. Also, all the rocks which were big enough for intruders to hide behind had already been moved away, in order to prevent a stealth approach.

In addition, there were large bells on the sentries' shoulders. Even if they were somehow downed by a sneak attack, the sound of the bells would alert their friends to the presence of enemies.

One could say that it was quite well thought out.

This situation was insoluble by purely physical means, but there was a way past it.

That was by using magic.

After casting a 「Silence」 spell, the attackers could kill them all in one go. Alternatively, they could use 「Invisibility」 to hide their approach, or 「Charm Person」 to draw out the opposition. Destroying the bells was also an option.

As Shalltear pondered which of these methods would be the most entertaining, Shalltear realized that there was an important piece of information which she did not have.

"Is there only one entrance?"

The Lesser Vampire nodded stiffly in response to Shalltear's question.

Shalltear smiled. It would seem that there was no need to overthink this.

This sturdy defense could be used to ward off ambushing enemies or allow one man to hold off a horde. However, Shalltear and her followers were different.

Charging straight in would not pose a problem to people who were so unimaginably powerful that they could crush humans like bugs. The only relevant consideration was if there was an exit through which the opposition could flee.

"Is that so? Then, since we've arrived, there's no need to hide in the shadows. Honestly, I'm not used to that sort of skulking around anyway."

"After all, anywhere you go is sure to shine brightly, lady Shalltear."

"Stating the truth hardly qualifies as flattery. You'd best think harder if you want to try sucking up to me."

Ignoring the Vampire Bride begging forgiveness with a lowered head, Shalltear reached out and grabbed the body of the Lesser Vampire.

"I shall entrust the weighty duty of being the vanguard to you. Go, then."

Her slender arms blurred, and the Lesser Vampire tore through the air before striking one of the sentries. Due to the spin imparted during the throw, the Lesser Vampire spun end over end several dozen times before hitting the man.

The force of the impact beggared the imagination. Not just the sentry's head, but even his chest spurted blood in all directions.

The stench of fresh gore hung in the air, and the other man could not parse what had just happened before his eyes. All he could do was stare dumbly at his colleague's tragic fate.

Still, this was quite an amusing sight to the thrower.

"Strike~"

"Truly magnificent, lady Shalltear."

The Vampire Brides applauded Shalltear. Needless to say, the Lesser Vampire had been pulverized, but the three of them did not seem troubled by that at all. That creature had never been a part of Nazarick to begin with, and had only been made for amusement. They felt nothing about how it had just been destroyed.

In addition, it had originally been a human being. Shalltear did not recall what she had promised him before.

"Now, how about the other one..."

Shalltear looked between the two Vampire Brides. They got the message and hurriedly passed her a rock which was suitable for throwing.

As she heard the sound of a bell from the distance, Shalltear grabbed a rock which was slightly larger than her hand.

Her delicate hand moved with shocking speed. In the next moment, Shalltear observed the results in the distance and happily pronounced:

"Then… that would make two strikes, hm?"

Applause rang out once more.

Then, the sound of a sentry shouting about an enemy attack reached Shalltear's ears. It would seem that another sentry had heard the sound of the bell.

As she looked inside the cave, which seemed to be getting noisier and noisier, Shalltear smiled gently before ordering:

"Then, let's go. You, keep watch from on top of a nearby tree and make sure nobody escapes. You, take the role of the vanguard and clear a path for me. However, do tell me if you encounter anyone who's stronger than the rest. I want to play with them."

"Yes, lady Shalltear."

"Go."

Having received her orders, the Vampire Bride stepped forward, slowly approaching the cave entrance—

—And then she vanished.

The earth collapsed — no, the earth did not collapse. She had stepped into a pit trap.

Perhaps Shalltear might have been able to avoid the trap before falling into it, but the Vampire Bride's reactions were not enough for her to evade a trap where the earth vanished under her feet.

"Ehhhhh~"

Still, the Vampire Bride was a low level vassal who had no particular ability to detect traps, so there was nothing to blame her for. That was why she had been forgiven earlier. Still, even if she understood why it had happened, Shalltear still made a noise of annoyance. After that, she smiled sweetly. That was not a smile born of kindness, satisfaction, or even embarrassment.

Come to think of it, she should have anticipated that they would put a pit trap in front of the cave entrance. However, it angered her that she had not seen through it, had even fallen for it. It was with a heart boiling with such emotions that she had smiled.

Shalltear Bloodfallen was a Guardian of the glorious Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. The fact that a servant of such a mighty individual had fallen for a trap like that was utterly intolerable.

A voice filled with murderous intent leaked from between Shalltear's lips:

"Get out of there before I tear you to pieces."

With a great leap, the Vampire Bride vaulted out of the pit and landed beside it. Though her clothes were stained by mud, there was no sign she had been hurt.

"Don't disappoint me again."

"My deepest apologies—"

"Forget it, just get in there. Unless you want me to throw you in like that trash from just now?"

As Shalltear reached out with a grabbing gesture, the Vampire Bride wailed in acknowledgement and immediately rushed into the cave. Shalltear followed leisurely behind her, strolling slowly into the cave.

As the clamor from outside filtered into the private room, the hand working on a weapon paused, and a pair of ears pricked up.

There was the sound of fighting, people running, and some screams mixed in.

They had been attacked, but there was still no idea of the attackers' numbers and their abilities. This was in spite of being trained to loudly shout that information when an attack came.

He could still hear something. This might have been a private room, but it was within a cave and had only a curtain in place of a door. The only thing separating this place from the entrance was distance, and while the curtain was thick, sound could still get in.

There were close to seventy people in the mercenary band known as the Death-Spreading Brigade. They were not as strong as him, but they were still grizzled veterans.

A raid by a small number of men would not cause such chaos. With that in mind, it might be reasonable to deduce that a large force had descended upon them. However, that did not explain why there was no sound of a great host outside, and the enemy did not feel that numerous.

"Then… could they be adventurers?"

That might explain this strange feeling of attackers who were few in number and possessed great fighting power.

He slowly rose to his feet, hanging his weapon at his waist. He put on a chain shirt, which did not take much time to don. Then, he attached a leather pouch with several potion bottles to his belt and tied it in place. Since he was already wearing his enchanted necklace and rings, his preparations were now complete.

He flung aside the curtain before stepping onto a central path within the cave.

Countless lanterns hung at evenly spaced intervals on the walls, each glowing with a 「Continual Light」 spell. It was bright enough that one could scarcely believe they were in a cave.

The light illuminated his entire body.

He was tall, but not skinny. The body beneath his clothes was as solid as steel. He had not honed his physique through strength training, but through live battles.

His hair was sloppily cut and thus looked uneven. It looked quite messy. His brown eyes stared keenly forward, and the corner of his mouth was curled up in the beginning of a sneer. His chin was overgrown with stubble that looked like mildew.

Although he appeared quite slovenly, his movements were nimble and graceful, like those of a beast.

As this man arrived at the entrance which was under attack, another man burst in from the other direction. He seemed quite familiar — he was a sellsword from the Brigade. As the mercenary saw him, a look of triumph blossomed on his face.

"What happened?"

"The enemy's attacking, Brain-san!"

The bitterly smiling man — Brain — responded:

"I know the enemy is attacking. What I want to know is how many are there? Who are they?"

"Yes! There's two of them, both women."

"Women? Only two of them? Could it be… Blue Rose, hm."

Brain tilted his head in what seemed like puzzlement, and then he strode out toward the cave entrance, through which the clamor poured.

The strongest adventurer team in the Kingdom was called "Blue Rose," and it was composed of five women. One of them had been an old lady. She and Brain had exchanged blows, and both sides had come away covered in wounds. He had also heard that the strongest assassins in the Empire were apparently women.

Powerful women were not exactly a rarity. Although women had weaker bodies than men, magic could easily cover that gap.

And of course, if someone with powerful physical abilities was augmented with equally powerful magic, the result would be invincible.

Respect welled up in Brain for these opponents, who stood as few against the many. His blood boiled in his chest, a battle-lust which resembled a hunger to do battle with mighty opponents.

"Hm, there's no need for you to come over. Just make sure you guard the inside well."

After giving the sellsword his orders, Brain strode forth, toward an unknown yet powerful foe.

His full name was Brain Unglaus.

Originally, he had been nothing more than an unassuming farmer. However, he was possessed of a natural gift, which was a talent for swordsmanship. With the aid of this talent, he was practically invincible as long as he had a weapon in hand. On the battlefield, he had not taken any wounds more severe than a scratch, and he could be described as a fighting genius.

Having never known defeat in swordsmanship, he walked an eternal path of victory.

Nobody, not even himself, had doubted this. But the Kingdom's royal martial tournament had changed the course of his life.

At first, he had not joined to win. He had simply intended to let the entire Kingdom know of his prowess. His aim had been to leave everyone crushed at his feet. However, he could barely believe the result of that tournament.

Defeat—

For the first time since he had picked up a weapon — no, for the first time in his life, he had been defeated.

The man who defeated him was Gazef Stronoff. He was now the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, and the mightiest warrior in the surrounding nations.

Before they faced each other, the two of them had swiftly cut a swathe through their respective divisions. However, the intense battle between them used up all the time they had saved.

In the end, Gazef had seized victory with the move called the 「Fourfold Slash of Light」. The tale of that struggle was immortalized in song and story. In addition, the ascension of the lowborn Gazef to the position of the Warrior-Captain was proof of how spectacular that battle had been. Even the nobles who detested him could not dismiss him as a weakling.

Though the winner was covered in glory, Brain — the loser — felt as though all his efforts up to that point had gone up in smoke. However, Brain had also learned that the dream of becoming the strongest in the world was not one that only he possessed. It would seem his perspective had been too limited.

After retreating into himself for over a month, Brain broke through the despair that would drive anyone to drink, and pulled himself together.

He refused employment offers from several nobles, having decided for the first time in his life to strengthen himself.

He trained ceaselessly, honing both his skills and his body.

He learned about magic and furthered his knowledge.

The genius now applied himself like a scholar.

Defeat had only made Brain stronger.

He did not want to work for nobles because he did not want his talents to rot away. One needed sparring partners when practicing the martial arts. Mere discussions of theory were not enough. In addition, there were vocations that allowed him to fight often and earn a good wage.

He did not choose the profitable path of the adventurer because adventurers did not have many chances to kill people. Of course, they fought a lot of monsters, but Brain's ultimate goal was to defeat Gazef. With that in mind, he had to train himself by fighting other humans.

Within this limited range of options, Brain chose to join the Death-Spreading Brigade. Granted, they were only a band of sellswords, but any mercenary company would do.

He had only one aim in mind.

That was to wipe away his earlier shame and avenge his defeat with victory.

In order to achieve this aim, he needed greater skills. Brain was willing to sacrifice anything for a weapon that matched his skills.

Magical weapons were very expensive, but he did not seek something as simple as a magic weapon.

In the south, far from the Kingdom, there was a city in the desert. Stories of blades that carved steel like mud came from there, weapons which were far superior to weakly enchanted magic weapons even without any enchantments of their own. Such swords commanded staggering prices, enough to make one's eyeballs pop out when one heard of them. Those weapons were what Brain wanted.

And in the end, he finally obtained a 「Katana」.

Currently, Brain's abilities had reached their limit. He was quite confident that he could defeat anyone easily, even if his opponent was Gazef. Even so, he did not allow that to get to his head, but continued training himself without fail.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that scene again.

He saw that scene from the martial tournament, that beautiful battle with Gazef. He had evaded that strike of his which nobody had been able to avoid, and responded with four simultaneous slashes.

With no way to imagine himself in defeat, all he could see was the noble form of the man who had beaten him, branded into his mind.

Brain walked to the entrance of the cave, and the faint smell of blood greeted his nose. The screams had stopped. That meant that all his comrades near the entrance had been slaughtered. Only about two or three minutes had passed.

There should have been at least ten sellswords at the entrance. Their orders were to hold fast, to buy time for the others to gird themselves for war. But to think someone had killed all these mercenaries in so short a time—

"If there's only two intruders, that means their abilities must be around the same level as mine."

Brain smiled coldly.

As he walked easily forward, he downed a potion from the pouch on his waist. The incredibly bitter liquid flowed down his throat and into his belly. He quaffed another bottle, and—

A wave of heat expanded from his guts, flowing into every corner of his body. In response to that heat, he could hear his muscles bulging and tightening.

This rapid muscle augmentation was the result of the magic contained within the potion.

The first magic potion he had drunk contained had the effect of a 「Lesser Strength」 spell, followed by one which bestowed 「Lesser Dexterity」 upon him.

There was no need to ingest the potions. They would work as long as a certain amount of the liquid made contact with his body. However, Brain felt that they would be more effective when drunk, rather than applied. Of course, that might have just been a whim of his, but whims like that sometimes gave rise to surprising power.

After that, he anointed his katana with an oil. Said oil left a faint bluish-white glow on his blade, before vanishing as it was absorbed into the metal. That oil bestowed the effects of a 「Magic Weapon」 spell upon his weapon, temporarily enchanting his sword with magic and increasing its sharpness.

"Activate 1, Activate 2."

In response to those command words, a subtle wave of magical power spread out from Brain's necklace and ring to envelop his body.

The Necklace of Eye was a necklace which protected one's ability to see, granting blindness resistance, darkvision, flare compensation, and other effects. There was no point in a warrior having the best weapon if he could not hit with it, after all. A common adventurer tactic was to rob a foe of their vision and finish them off with ranged weapons from a distance. The fact was that Brain had suffered that sort of treatment at the hands of adventurers before obtaining this necklace.

After that, he activated an item which could both store and release low tier spells, the Ring of Magic Bind. The spell it released was one reduced energy damage, 「Lesser Protection Energy」.

If there were really only two attackers, then it was worth fully preparing himself to face them. It would be too late to regret not having made the proper preparations afterwards.

With that, he was ready.

He took several deep breaths, expelling the intense heat brewing within his body.

As he was now, Brain — his body enhanced by various effects — was a swordsman who stood at the peak of humanity. He was absolutely confident in his fighting ability, and a savage grin bloomed on his face.

Now that I've prepared myself, I hope you'll show me a good time.

The further he advanced, the stronger the scent of blood became—

Two shapes appeared before him.

"Oi oi, it looks like the two of you had a lot of fun."

"Hardly. I don't know if it's because these people are too weak, but they're not filling up the Blood Pool."

The response to Brain's unhurried entrance was that casual line. It might have been because the opposition knew Brain would come at them directly. On his part, Brain had no intention of hiding himself, so perhaps that reaction was only to be expected.

As he looked on the intruders before him, Brain slightly wrinkled his brow.

I was told there were two women, but one's little more than a little girl, and they're in dresses…?

Still, Brain cast aside those thoughts, because above the head of that unimaginably beautiful girl hovered an orb that seemed to be made of fresh blood.

"Don't think I've seen that spell before… are you two magic casters?"

Both of them wore dresses, garments that were unsuitable for combat. However, if they were magic casters, he could understand why they did not wear armor.

"I am a divine magic caster who venerates the First of the Blood, the Divine Ancestor Cainabel."

"The 'Shin-sow Kine-able?' Never heard of him before, is he some sort of evil deity?"

"That is correct, but he was defeated by the Supreme Beings. Apparently, he was just a 'weak event boss,' or something to the supreme one. One would expect nothing less of the Supreme Beings."

Brain looked away from the muttering girl and turned his eyes to the woman that looked like a follower. That woman was also a beauty, with full, upthrust breasts, wreathed in an erotic musk that titillated the senses.

Her white dress was flecked in crimson spots. That implied she was the vanguard.

Brain relaxed his shoulders, and then gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Forget it, I'm ready. I can wait for you if you're not, how about it?"

The girl looked at Brain in surprise. Then she covered her mouth and laughed quietly.

"How brave. Will you really be alright by yourself? I don't mind if you call all your friends over."

"There's no amount of small fry which can hurt you, right? Then I'll be plenty enough."

"It can't be helped if you don't know how high the stars are, right? Childish thoughts like being able to touch the stars by reaching out for them are best left for a girl with childish sentiments like Aura. They're disgusting when you hear them coming from an adult."

"And why can't such a person exist? What would a little girl like you know about a man's dreams?"

Brain raised his blade, levelling its tip at the two of them. As she saw this, the girl looked boredly at the ceiling, then forward, and then—

"Get him."

The girl raised her chin, and the woman charged.

Her movements were swift as the wind — however, even if she moved like the wind, Brain could still cut her easily.

Brain brought his katana down with a forceful swing. Filled with a power that could split an armored warrior bodily in two, it raced through the air like a hurricane.

"Kuh!"

"Hmph, that was too shallow, huh?"

Counter-attacked mid-charge, the woman leapt away as she pressed her hand against her chest. The cut started from her left shoulder and ran across her breasts.

Brain frowned as he stared at his foe.

Part of it was because he could not finish her off in a single strike, but there was something else Brain did not understand. That something was why the woman's shoulder was not bleeding. Her blood should have been spurting out, under normal circumstances.

Could it be magic?

As that thought ran through Brain's mind, he saw what was happening to the wound under the woman's hand, and he narrowed his eyes.

The shoulder wound was slowly healing up. He had heard of certain healing spells which worked quickly, but this did not feel like one of them. That being the case, there was only one answer.

His opponent was a monster with powers of regeneration. Her sharp canines were exposed and her red pupils were filled with hostility. She looked almost the same as a human being...

As he pondered these facts, Brain finally deduced the true identity of the monster.

"A vampire… no? Special abilities include… fast healing, mystic eyes of charming, life drain, creating spawn through blood drain, weapon damage resistance, cold resistance? There should also be… ah, forget it."

There was no need to bother with the rest. With that, he gripped his katana's hilt once more.

The woman's eyes went wide, and her red pupils seemed abnormally large.

In that moment, a fog suddenly clouded Brain's mind, and he felt favorably disposed toward the enemy before him. However, he dispersed the fog with a quick shake of his head.

"...Mystic eyes, huh? My will isn't weak enough to be affected by that sort of thing alone."

Having drawn his sword, Brain's heart was like a sword as well, cleaving effortlessly through regular mind control.

The Vampire Bride bared her fangs to frighten him, but that attempt at intimidation was tinged by her own fear. If she felt that she was stronger, then all she would need to do was charge him without bothering with the scare tactics. In other words, she felt that she needed to be wary of him after his counterattack, or perhaps it was because she felt he was a strong opponent.

"Pretty smart. Still, a beast making a decision like that is little more than instinct…"

Brain slowly advanced on the Vampire Bride, who steadily retreated in time with his movements.

Brain scoffed in boredom. The Vampire Bride seemed to think her opponent was taunting her and so she ceased her backwards motion, but instead stepped forward.

The two of them were roughly three meters apart; a distance the Vampire Bride could cover in a single bound. Even so, she did not pounce him, because she feared Brain's abilities. And then— the Vampire Bride smiled and extended a hand.

"「Shock Wave」."

A shockwave rippled through the air towards Brain. Given that this spell could easily dent a suit of full plate armor, it would severely injure Brain — who wore only a chain shirt — if it struck him. In addition, landing that single spell could change the course of this battle, given the difference in the fundamental physical attributes of both parties.

However — the Vampire Bride's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Smile after you hit, unless you want me to see through your attack."

—He was unharmed.

Brain's mocking laugh rang out after easily avoiding the invisible shockwave. The Vampire Bride panicked and stepped back. Originally, she had believed humans to be an inferior species and had looked down on him. However, the look of her face was now one of shock as her assumptions had been disproven.

Brain did not show it on his face, but he knew he had to change his tactics now, because he had not expected his enemy to use magic as well.

Brain's target was the man called Gazef. He desired to cross swords with him. Therefore, his knowledge of magic was not as great as his knowledge of blades. He did not know the mysteries of magic and had no idea what kind of tricks his opponent would pull next.

In the end, the two of them ended up staring at each other.

The girl standing at the sidelines was displeased by this deadlock, and could no longer hide her annoyance.

"Eh, tag out."

The girl snapped her finger, and the crisp, clear sound made the Vampire Bride's body shudder.

Brain remained still as he watched the Vampire Bride look away.

It was a perfect chance to attack, but Brain did not do so. He shifted his attention from the Vampire Bride facing him to the girl.

She was petite, though the fact that her breasts were full and bulbous seemed quite out of place on her skinny body. Her delicate arms looked fragile enough that Brain felt he could break them if he exerted his full strength.

There were many kinds of divine magic casters. Perhaps she was not a melee-oriented Cleric, but a spell-oriented Priestess, or perhaps she was a Bishop, who specialized in spellcasting.

However, she was asking to tag in so she could fight in person. That implied she was confident of victory even without her vanguard. What that means — as Brain thought about it, he smiled.

Doesn't look like a command to a summoned creature. That means she must be a Vampire as well.

In addition, given the girl's attitude, she must be a higher order of Vampire. Monster's appearances often did not match their actual abilities, so it would not be strange for that little girl's body to possess higher physical abilities than the Vampire from just now. In addition, she had observed Brain's formidable combat prowess and still chose to take the field.

In contrast, the Vampire Bride looked afraid.

A mistress who can frighten a Vampire… Looks like she'll be a tough foe. I'll need to be on my guard.

As he sized up the girl, Brain continued pondering her true identity.

Speaking of a Vampire's mistress, could she be one of those legendary Vampire Lords? I heard there was one of them who earned the title of "Landfall" for destroying a nation… however, the stories also say she was wiped out by the Thirteen Heroes.

If she had been beaten by heroes in the past, then his opponent was hardly invincible.

Brain tightened his grip on his katana's hilt, slowly shifting into an attack stance.

"I am Brain Unglaus."

After Brain identified himself to this mighty foe, the girl reacted in a surprising way; she quirked an eyebrow at him.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Brain asked the girl:

"...What is your name?"

"Ah! You wanted to know my name. Cocytus might have gotten it right away but I've never looked at people like that before, so it took me a while to get it. My apologies, but you should have just asked me directly."

The girl took up the hems of her skirt and curtseyed elegantly, like a dancer at a ball.

"My name is Shalltear Bloodfallen. And the pleasure will be all mine."

That elegant curtsy was directed to a man who stood before her with a drawn blade. He was unsure if she knew she would not be attacked, or if she was confident of dealing with any attack that did come. Judging by her expression, it would seem to be the latter case — "Someone like you is nothing to be afraid of."

—Let me break that self-assurance of yours.

Brain stared silently at Shalltear, his eyes keen razors that would terrify even a hardened veteran. Her calmness irritated him, but on the flip side, that expression of hers played right into Brain's hands.

It was the arrogance of the strong.

This arrogance was one of the weapons humanity could use to defeat monsters, whose power outstripped that of human beings. In fact, Brain had played on this sort of opportunity before to defeat several monsters who were mightier than himself.

The most important thing was — he could mock them after he defeated them. After he told them, "You can look down on some people, but not others."

"Are you not going to use martial arts?"

—Martial arts.

They were skills mastered during a warrior's quest for martial perfection. Some people called them ki or some kind of aura, but they defied easy description.

In the face of a massive, towering foe, a person who had learned 「Fortress」 could negate the mighty blows of his opponent and stand blade to blade with him.

Someone who had learned the ability to concentrate ki onto his blade and swing with 「Slash」 could slay even the most resilient of foes in one hit.

Against heavily armored foes, the bludgeoning martial art called 「Bash」 came into play.

Anyone who had learned to temporarily improve their physical parameters with 「Ability Boost」 could seize victory through their power of their augmented bodies.

A warrior needed to anticipate all sorts of circumstances, learn various martial arts, and incorporate them all into his own strength. This went double for adventurers, who were often plunged into bizarre battle conditions.

That being the case, what about Brain?

"Hmph, I won't need martial arts for a brat like you," Brain responded. It was a lie, of course. He was not stupid enough to announce his ace in the hole to his opponents.

Brain exhaled slowly and lowered his stance, returning his sword to its sheath.

He was preparing for a draw cut.

His breaths became long and shallow.

He focused his mind into a single point, and in the moment where it was fully concentrated, his awareness rebounded, expanding back outward. His perceptions were on a level where he was fully aware of everything around him; sounds, the air, and other sensory phenomena. This move was one of the original martial arts that he had created — 「Field」.

Its range was not great, only about three meters in radius, but the martial art allowed him to perceive everything within that radius. Perhaps it might be easier to explain it as boosting his accuracy and evasion while within that area.

Combined with Brain's honed body, this martial art possessed extraordinary power.

He was confident that he could emerge unscathed beneath a hail of arrows. In addition, his precision was such that he could cleave even a tiny grain of wheat in two.

In addition—

All living things died when weapons struck their vitals. Thus, all one needed to do was master techniques which could accurately strike said vitals.

Rather than learn a broad range of techniques, he had focused on one single goal. His goal was to strike faster than his opponent, to accurately deliver a single, fatal blow, and in the course of his studies he had innovated a second unique martial art — 「Instant Flash」.

That high-speed strike was swift enough to be undodgeable, but he had not stopped there.

His training after that was extraordinary, in pursuit of the peak of excellence. He must have practiced it hundreds of thousands, no, millions of times. His ceaseless use of the 「Instant Flash」 had caused calluses to grow on his palms, specializing them in performing the technique, and parts of his sword's hilt had been worn into the shape of his grips.

In his unending quest for perfection, he had once more birthed a new technique.

He could cut his foe so quickly that blood would not even stick to the blade. Feeling that he had reached the realm of the gods, he named that technique 「God Flash」.

With that move, his opponents would not even realise he had struck.

Once he combined these two martial arts, the 「Field」 which guaranteed a hit and the 「God Flash」 that struck at divine speed, there was no way anyone could avoid being slain in one blow.

His strikes were aimed at his opponents' vitals; specifically, their necks.

This was his secret move — the "Mogaribue."

It was named for the sound his opponent's blood made when it spurted from the stump of their severed necks.

Against Vampires, there would probably be no spray of blood, but being able to sever his foe's neck probably counted as a victory.

"Are you done preparing yet?"

As she looked at Brain, who stayed silent and did nothing but breathe, Shalltear shrugged in boredom.

"I'm ready to make my move, so if you have any last words, feel free to say them~"

Beat—

"—Then let the trampling begin."

Shalltear strode forward with that cheerful pronouncement.

Are you kidding me!? We'll see how calm you are after your head hits the ground.

Brain did not say that. He felt that doing so would break his concentration and waste his effort.

Shalltear's steps were unguarded, seemingly defenseless, as dainty and casual as if she were heading for a picnic.

This was not the way a warrior moved. Brain fought the urge to grin.

He felt she was foolish, but there was no way he would go easy on her.

Brain went on to use 「Ability Boost」. He was waiting for his opponent to enter his 「Field」, which was also his striking range, and once she did so he would attack. Arrogant monsters who thought themselves mightier than others were all like that. After all, humans were weak creatures with inferior physical abilities, and no special abilities of note.

However, I'll teach you how dangerous it is to look down on mankind.

Brain mused that martial arts were created to fight beings that were stronger than humans.

— I'll finish you off in one hit.

Haughty monsters would often struggle when pushed into dire straits. If he could not finish her off in one blow, she would probably instruct her Vampire to come help her. Then the battle would become two against one, and even Brain would be hard-pressed to hold them off.

Thus, he needed to kill her in one blow.

Brain's face was impassive, but he was laughing internally.

He laughed at his opponent's leisurely approach; perhaps she did not know that she was climbing the stairs to the chopping block.

Three more steps, two more steps.

...One more step.

And then—

—Your head is mine!

With that mental declaration, Brain struck with all his might.

"Hoo!"

He expelled a short, forceful breath.

His blade cleared his sheath, slicing through the air at Shalltear.

There was a single word to describe the speed of this movement — lightning. By the time one saw it, one's head would have fallen, so quickly did it take place. After practicing millions of times, it was truly a divine flash.

I win.

As Brain thought that—

—He stared in shock.

The blow had missed. The strike into which he had poured his entire being had been evaded.

If that had happened, he might have been able to admit that he had met an unimaginably powerful opponent.

However—

Shalltear had caught it with her fingertips.

She had caught Brain's lightning-fast strike.

In addition, she held his blade gently, like one would the wings of a butterfly.

Brain could not help but pant heavily, as he felt the air seem to freeze around him.

"...Im-Impossible..."

Those nearly-inaudible words accompanied each gasp he made.

Brain struggled desperately to rein in the tremors within him, as the scene before his eyes utterly defied his expectations. However, it was an undeniable fact that there were two of Shalltear's ivory fingers upon the body of his blade — her thumb and her forefinger.

More than that, she had not seized his blade from the front, but hooked her arm around the swing to catch it from behind. Without once entering the path of the strike, she had caught up with the speed of the katana — with the speed of his 「God Flash」.

Although she appeared to be gingerly grasping the blade, with hardly any effort at all, Brain could not budge his sword backward or forward, despite pouring the full strength of his body into his exertions. It was like yanking on a chain fastened to a stone several hundred times his own body weight.

And then, the force on his sword suddenly increased, almost throwing Brain off balance.

"Hmph, Cocytus has several of these too, but since there's an astronomical difference between the wielders, it's hardly worth being on guard for."

Shalltear pulled the grasped katana before her, studying it.

As Brain understood what she had said, the inside of his head turned white.

It was a sense of despair which denied his entire life.

Even so, he pulled himself together again. That was because he had been defeated once, and just as a broken bone would knit back thicker and stronger, he had developed a resistance to the condition of defeat.

It was impossible, but he had to believe it.

He had to believe the fact that her fingers could easily seize his divinely-fast strike.

His face nearly turned pale from the weight of that shock, and Shalltear wrinkled her brows in surprise at this development.

Then, he heard something like an exaggerated sigh of disappointment.

"You understand, right? You can't beat me without using martial arts. If you understand, please don't hold back. Shouldn't you go all out now?"

As those cruel words reached his ears, Brain could not help but curse:

"You damn monster—!"

As she heard him, Shalltear smiled innocently, radiant as a blossoming flower.

"Is that so? Do you finally understand? I'm a cold, merciless, cruel — and lovable monster."

After letting go of the katana, Shalltear leapt back, to her original position, accurate to within the millimeter.

"Are you done preparing yet?"

Shalltear's delighted smile and those words combined to make Brain's blood boil. How much further are you going to scorn me? Instead, as Brain realised that his opponent was powerful enough that she could look down on someone like him who had reached the limits of human strength, he could not help but be afraid.

—Should I run?

Brain had always felt that living was the most important thing. If he was outmatched, he should run, and erase his shame at a later date. Brain felt that as long as he survived, he could claim the victory in the end, because he was sure he could get stronger in the meantime.

However, how could he flee someone whose physical abilities overwhelmed his own by such a large margin?

As though freshly awakened, Brain reconfirmed the location he was targeting.

He was aiming for her legs, to reduce his opponent's mobility before escaping at top speed.

He would avoid the radius in which his foe had seized the strike made with all his might, and instead attack something which was harder to defend.

With that in mind, Brain turned his attention to Shalltear's neck as he resheathed his katana. When 「Field」 activated, he could strike accurately even with his eyes closed, so it made sense to deceive his opponent with his eyes.

"—Let the trampling begin."

Shalltear stepped forward once more in an exaggerated fashion.

Although he had previously expected that she would step into his 「Field」, it was the opposite now — he hoped that she would not enter the 「Field」.

How pathetic is this, Brain mentally chastised himself. Still, even his desire to avenge himself could not ignite his fighting spirit. It was like a fire that had run out of fuel. He tsked, and used 「Field」 to monitor Shalltear's movements.

Three steps, two steps, one step—

—She was in range.

As Brain stared at Shalltear's neck, he noticed her mocking expression out of the corner of his eye.

—His target was the right ankle she was putting forward.

He swung down with his katana, using his body weight to further hasten his blow.

As he cast his stress aside, he was certain that this swing was faster than the previous one. Even he had no way of defending against a strike of that speed.

I can do it!

Just as he was about to slice off the girl's delicate ankle that revealed itself from beneath the hem of her skirt—

—The hilt of Brain's katana slid from his hands.

Brain's line of sight did not move, and he had no idea what had happened. However, the special sensory abilities granted to him by 「Field」 made him acutely aware that his beloved katana was now on the ground, trod under a high-heeled foot.

It was impossible. Yet, it was an undeniable reality.

The reason Brain's katana had slipped was because of the shock transmitted into his hands when that high-heeled shoe had stepped on it.

There was only one reason not to believe this.

That reason was: despite heightening his focus to its limit, he still had not sensed his opponent's movements. Yes, not even within the 「Field」 of which he was so proud.

She was close enough that if she reached her hand out, she could touch him. Shalltear's disdainful gaze landed on Brain from such a short distance. The startling pressure it generated threatened to crush the air along with Brain himself.

Brain's breathing grew chaotic.

His sweat flowed like rain, soaking his entire body. His field of vision trembled and an intense feeling of nausea came over him.

He had been through several risky encounters before, so desperate situations were a common sight for him. However, those encounters were little more than child's play compared to his present predicament.

The high-heeled shoe pulled off the blade, and Shalltear silently leapt away.

"—Are you done preparing yet?"

"!"

The third repetition of those words filled Brain with an incomparable sense of despair.

Next, she would say "Let the trampling begin." However, just as Brain thought that would happen, he heard something completely different.

"Could it be that… you can't use martial arts?"

That voice — filled with pity and surprise — made Brain draw a sudden breath.

He could give no reply. No, to be precise, he did not know what to say. Perhaps he could playfully reply like a clown: "Ah, I used them just now, but you defeated them easily."

Biting his lower lip, Brain retrieved his katana.

"...Could it be that you're not actually that strong? I thought you were stronger than those chaps at the entrance… Sorry about that, I measure strength in meters, so I can't discern differences of a millimeter or two."

He had worked so hard and so long.

During the showdown with Gazef, he was overly confident in his natural abilities, so he had not trained and lost to someone who had. As a result, his defeat had turned into his motivation.

The mindset he had developed, of standing up again from defeat — of earnestly honing his skills to produce results — were nothing but foolishness to the monster before him.

This can't be happening. All along, I've been slaying those monsters who scorned me and mocked me for being weaker than them—

As those thoughts rose through Brain's mind, he struggled to press them down, and in their place—

"Aaaaahhhhh—!"

With a great shout, he made his move on Shalltear. Brain swung at Shalltear — who had a puzzled look on her face as she watched him attack — with all the force his body could muster.

His blow, which marshalled all the muscles of his entire body, could easily cut an armored human being in half.

Shalltear had no intention of evading that stunning strike. The way she watched the gleaming arc of white light descending upon her made Brain think that he might be able to land a hit.

However, the scene from earlier denied those thoughts of his. Could he really strike her so easily?

In the next moment, those fears were confirmed.

As a crisp ringing filled the air, Brain once more saw an unbelievable sight.

Shalltear had swiftly flicked the nail of her left little finger — roughly two centimeters long — with blinding speed. In addition, Shalltear did not seem to be using any strength at all; the rest of her hand was balled up into a fist, leaving only the little finger sticking out; and it was slightly bent.

With that motion — which did not even qualify as toying with him — she had parried that blow which Brain had struck with all his might.

Parried that blow which could cleave full plate armor, shatter swords, and break shields—

Struggling desperately to pull together his shattered will to fight, he focused his strength into his hands which trembled from the impact of Shalltear's parry. He raised his katana high and brought it down, and then — Shalltear still casually deflected it.

"Huaaaah~"

Shalltear yawned in an exaggerated manner, even going so far as to pat her mouth with her right hand. She was intentionally staring at the ceiling now. It would seem she was no longer taking Brain seriously.

Even so.

Even so — Brain's katana had still been deflected.

By the little finger of her left hand—

"Uoooohhhh—!"

A roar issue from Brain's throat. No, it was not a roar, but a cry of despair.

Horizontal slash — parried.

Diagonal slash — parried.

Frontal slash — parried.

Diagonal cut — parried.

Vertical cut — parried.

Horizontal cut — parried.

No matter the angle, no matter the direction in which he made his attacks, all of them were deflected by a singal nail.

It felt as though his katana was being drawn to that nail, and in that moment Brain finally understood.

His opponent was truly powerful. Even his hard work and natural talents could not even bring him close to her feet, let alone onto her level.

"Ara~ tired already? Though come to think of it, this nail clipper's pretty dull."

Brain stopped swinging as he heard those surprising words.

Could one cut through a mountain with a sword? That was impossible; even a child knew that. Then, could he beat Shalltear? Any warrior who faced her would know that answer.

There was no way he could defeat her.

Human beings could not defeat entities who were beyond human imagination. If anyone was able to stand toe to toe with her, that someone must surely be a mighty individual who was beyond the realm of mankind. Regretfully, Brain was merely a warrior who stood at humanity's peak.

Indeed, no matter how hard he worked, as long as he was still a human being, he would be nothing more than an infant flailing around with a stick.

"...I… trained so hard…"

"Trained hard? What a pointless statement. I was created strong, so there was no need to train hard in order to become stronger."

Brain laughed as he heard this.

I tried so hard, and got so far. But in the end, it doesn't even matter. How self-centered was I, thinking I was a genius?

His legs felt heavy, like they had been squashed by huge boulders.

"...? Ahahahaha, what are you crying for? Did something sad happen?"

He understood what Shalltear was saying. However, her voice was muffled, as though it were coming from far away.

Even his determination to train himself, the determination that let him burst the blisters on his hands to continue swinging a heavy iron bar, was meaningless. Wearing heavy armor and running long distances was meaningless. Defeating monsters by himself was also meaningless.

It was all meaningless. Therefore, Brain's life was also meaningless.

In the face of a truly powerful being, Brain was no different from the powerless weaklings he used to mock.

"I'm an idiot…"

"...Are you done? Then it's about time to wrap this up, no?"

Shalltear giggled as she advanced on him, her little finger extended. Brain cried out; not a warrior's call to battle, but a child's weeping.

Brain ran wildly.

He faced his back to Shalltear.

Having experienced Shalltear's physical ability first-hand, he expected that she would catch up with him immediately.

Still, he paid that fact no heed. Or rather, Brain no longer had the energy to worry about that sort of thing. He simply revealed his defenseless back to her, scrunching his face up into a tear- and snot-filled mess as he desperately ran deeper into the cave.

Just then, an innocent girl's voice, laced with bloodlust, came from behind Brain.

"Are we playing tag then? You're going to play all sorts of games with me? Then I shall enjoy myself, ahahahaha~"

A cold wind blew through the main hall, slipping through the gaps in the barricade and washing over the surviving men of the Death-Spreading Brigade, all forty two of them.

The main hall was the most spacious part of the cave system, so it was commonly used as a dining area. However, it was now an emergency stronghold.

This series of caves — the sellswords' hideout — was centered around this long and narrow hall. Several smaller caves radiated off along its sides, and they were used as personal rooms, armories, and food storage. Therefore, if this place was taken, the other locations would also fall easily. When attacked, it thus made sense to designate this place as the linchpin of their final defensive line.

That said, it might have been called a stronghold, but it had not been built to the standards of one.

They had upended their crude tables and stacked up boxes to form a simple barricade. After that, they had strung up several chest-height ropes between the entrance to the main hall and the barricade, in order to ward off anyone who might try to charge the barricade. Once the enemy ran into the obstacles, the defenders could avoid being drawn into a melee.

Almost everyone was arrayed behind this defensive formation, holding their crossbows as they waited in the center, left and right wings.

Even if it came to a shooting match, the dimensions of the main hall and the size of the entrance gave an overwhelming advantage to the defenders in the hall. In addition, now that they had all spread out, the attackers would end up taking fire from all the defenders no matter where they decided to attack. Even area-effect attacks would have trouble taking them out because they were spread out. This troop arrangement was designed to provide covering fire, and it was called a crossfire.

It was a simple formation, but it could hold off an enemy force larger than itself.

And then, disquieted looks began appearing on the men's faces.

As the men trembled, their chain shirts quivered along with them, producing the rustle of links sliding over other links.

The interior of the cave was cool, and quite comfortable even on summer days. However, what they felt now was not exactly coldness.

Just now, peals of laughter had rung in from the outside. Due to the echoes within the cave, it was transformed into a shrill, sexless laughter, which was what had chilled them to their bones.

They believed that since the strongest man in the Death-Spreading Brigade — Brain Unglaus — had sortied, there was no need for them to build a barricade or the like.

That laughter had shattered their conviction.

Brain was unbeatable. That was what they believed.

Brain was far stronger than an ordinary man. Even Imperial knights could not possibly defeat him. Not even monsters could. He could slay an Ogre in one hit, charge into a Goblin horde by himself and mow them down like grass. If the entire Death-Spreading Brigade crossed blades with him, he might well end up taking all their heads. What else could they call him but their strongest man?

But if such a man had been defeated, what did that mean?

The fact that someone could fight Brain and still laugh like that could only mean one thing.

Everybody knew it, but nobody dared to say it.

All they could do was look silently at each other.

The eyes of everyone gathered here went wordlessly to the entrance of the hall — in the direction of the rest of the cave.

The tension in the air thickened, and then—

The sound of running came toward them, growing louder and louder.

Someone gulped loudly. The sounds of several crossbow strings being drawn back could be heard amidst the silence.

As the sellswords watched the hall's entrance, a man sprinted into view, panting heavily. It was a miracle that nobody had loosed their bolts at him.

"Brain!"

The man who shouted was the head of the mercenaries — the Brigade's leader. Soon, a great cheer exploded through the hall. Their jubilant cheers came from their belief that he had defeated the intruder.

There were sounds of voices congratulating Brain, as well as those of hands patting each other on the shoulder.

They chanted Brain's name over and over again. Amidst this praise, Brain stood at the entrance to the hall, holding his weapon in one powerless hand as he quietly surveyed the faces of the sellswords around him.

No, that was not right. His expression suggested that he was looking for something.

The cheering died down as though suppressed, as the sellswords picked up on Brain's strange mood.

Brain ran for the barricade.

"Oi! Wait up, we'll open up for you!"

Brain paid those words no heed as he squirmed into the barricade, forcing his way through without wasting a single moment before continuing his run.

He felt the sellswords stare dumbly at him as he opened a door. It led to a cave which was being used as a storeroom, and he rushed inside.

"What's wrong? Did he put something in there?"

"Who knows? It feels weird, though… was he crying? Nah, that couldn't be!"

They stuck their heads out to look at the closing door, but the mercenaries were thoroughly baffled by the strange event which had transpired before them.

Only one person here was frowning; the brigade's leader. This was because only he — no, Brain knew as well, so that made two — had an idea of what was going on. However, he did not have the time to verify his suspicions.

The sound of slow, graceful steps drew close, followed by the slow appearance of a stranger in the entrance.

None of them had any idea who that person was. Since nobody in the band knew this stranger, it was clear that it was the intruder who had sparked this disturbance, and the commotion vanished in an instant.

Impossible. If that were really the case, that would mean that the reason why Brain was here had now taken a one eighty degree turn. If the intruder was still alive, it meant that he had fled here.

In addition, there was only one intruder, its back hunched in a bizarre way.

It was not tall and looked like a girl. Her arms hung limply below her, as did her head. The strange thing was that given the position of her head and the bottom of her neck, it looked like the latter was three times longer than that of a regular human being.

She had a full head of lustrous silver hair which dragged along the ground as she slowly entered the hall. She wore an exquisitely-crafted dress, which seemed to be wreathed in darkness.

Nobody spoke.

A wave of heart-stopping cold accompanied this dreadful visage.

Her head slowly came up, her face obscured by the strands of silvery hair. Through them, they could see a pair of red lights, which slowly narrowed down to needle-sharpness.

Everyone knew what this meant — much to their misfortune.

She was laughing.

That frightening girl raised her head, revealing a beautiful face. However, nothing could be more revolting to the people who had just seen the state of her. Those elegant features looked like a mask sculpted by a top-rate artist.

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Shalltear Bloodfallen. Is this the finishing point? Does this mean the game of tag is over?"

As she spouted those bewildering lines, the girl — Shalltear — looked around. However, that beautiful face of hers wrinkled, probably because she had not found the person she was looking for. In the unbroken silence, the girl's voice rang forth once more.

"Are we playing hide and seek noooooooow?"

She giggled merrily, seemingly amused by this. Shalltear lowered her head and laughed and laughed and laughed, her silver hair shrouding her face.

As the sellswords gasped at the sight before them, Shalltear's laughter grew ever louder.

"Ahahaaahahahahahaaaahahhahahahhh!"

Her full-bellied mirth echoed through the hall as the girl slowly raised her head again.

The face they saw made the sellswords feel like their hearts were being crushed in their chests, and that ice water was filling their veins.

That face was no longer beautiful. The color flowing out of her pupils had dyed her eyes completely red, and the two neat rows of white teeth in her mouth now resembled a set of delicate syringe needles, like a shark's gaping maw. A lewd pink glow leaked from her throat as transparent saliva drooled from her mouth.

"Ahahaaahahaahaahahaa!"

Shalltear bared her fangs and grinned, so wide that the corners of her mouth almost touched her ears. She laughed several dozen times, like the tolling of an off-key bell.

Whimpers of despair filled the air of the hall.

Though they were in a cavern, it seemed as though even the air could not bear it and joined in with the resounding echoes.

—A girl?

—A monster?

—A fiend?

It was none of them.

This was terror incarnate—

Despite the distance between them, they could scent blood on her breath. Due to the intensity of the stench, it seemed as though even the air was turning red.

"Uwaaaaaah—!"

Overcome by panic, one of the sellswords screamed and depressed the lever on his crossbow.

The bolt tore through the air and embedded itself deep into Shalltear's chest. The impact made her waver slightly.

"—Loose!"

Upon hearing their leader's voice, the sellswords came to their senses, chased away their fear, and fired their crossbows as one.

The bolts which shot out roared like a downpour, riddling Shalltear's body with projectiles.

Thirty one of the forty bolts fired had hit, each piercing deeply into her body. At this range, the bolts could even go through metal armor, so this was the logical outcome.

In addition, the four which had entered her head would have been fatal for a human being.

Someone breathed, "We killed it…"

Those words were the hope which all of them were clinging to. Although their foe was still standing, so many bolts stuck out of it that it resembled a porcupine. By common sense, it should have been definitively dead.

Still, while that thought filled their minds, the smoking cinders of fear within their hearts could not be extinguished.

As though driven by some kind of sixth sense, the sellswords began reloading their crossbows.

And then — Shalltear moved.

Like a conductor preparing to direct a performance, she slowly spread her arms. The bolts which covered her body began working their way out and then fell to the ground. None of them had so much as a single drop of blood on them, nor were their heads dented. It was as though they had never been used at all.

Shalltear laughed, and a vile, predator's snarl appeared on her face.

Scattered cries of terror rose from the frightened sellswords. As though urged on by those cries, countless bolts ripped through the air toward Shalltear once more.

The numberless projectiles impaled her eyeballs, pierced her throat, penetrated her abdomen and sank into her shoulders. Yet the girl who had met such a grisly fate merely seemed annoyed, as though she had been caught in a drizzle.

"It's uselessssssss~ But you still try so haaaaaaarrrrrrd~"

She took a step forward, and then — she leapt.

The ceiling was about five meters above the cave floor. The girl jumped high enough to reach out and touch it easily. She sailed gracefully through the air and landed on the other side of the barricade. As her high heels clacked on the ground, all the bolts stuck in her fell off as well.

She turned to look at the soldiers behind her, who were reloading their crossbows.

She stepped forward — and punched.

She did not even put her back into it. It was a simple, casual punch. That said, it was possessed of extraordinary speed and its destructive power was out of this world.

Her hand pierced the body of the sellsword she had punched, sending him flying into the barricade. With a heaven-shaking crash, the wood of the barricade disintegrated, spraying splinters everywhere.

Only the silence of wood chips falling to the ground could be heard in the silence that filled the hall.

The stunned sellswords stopped reloading their crossbows, staring dumbly at Shalltear.

Shalltear stuck her index finger into the mass of blood floating above her and drew out a strand of blood, which turned into a character before her. It looked like a Sanskrit character or a similar symbol, and it was called a Magic Rune.

Shalltear possessed a class called Blood Drinker, and this was one of its skills: Blood Pool. This orb of enchanted blood could store the blood of victims for various purposes. It could also drain mana from the blood, so one could use skills that augmented spells without consuming extra MP.

"「Penetrate Magic - Implosion」."

After casting this tenth tier spell — which was of the highest tier of magic — the bodies of ten mercenaries began swelling up from inside.

There was no time for them to cry out. All they could do was watch their bodies expand inexorably, looks of ignorant terror on their faces. Then, in the next moment, their bodies burst, like balloons popping.

"Hahahahhhahahaahaha! Firewoooooorks! How prettyyyyyyyy~"

Shalltar pointed to the spraying blood, applauding and cackling as she did.

"Uooohhhhh!"

Following that cry, an estoc impaled Shalltear's chest from behind — piercing her heart. It sawed up and down, as though to widen the wound.

"Die, you monster!"

The broadsword swing after that nearly clove Shalltear's head in half, its point stopping after it pierced her left eye.

"You lot, hurry up and get stuck in!"

As wails and cries rose from them, three mercenaries hacked at Shalltear's body with the weapons they had at hand.

They swung over and over again, but Shalltear still stood firm, despite having a broadsword buried halfway into that face of hers. Said face bore a frightening smile, with no sign that she was in pain at all.

After they tired of attacking her, the sellswords cast down their swords and switched to punching and kicking her, the tears streaming down their faces. Though they were much larger than she was, Shalltear remained unmoved. It was as though the sellswords were assaulting a huge boulder.

Shalltear tilted her head to look at the mercenaries and began thinking. Then she clapped her hands together, having thought of some devilish scheme.

"Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"

She exhaled, as though expelling the heat from within her. The thick stench of gore made the people around her nauseous.

Shalltear carelessly wrenched out the broadsword stuck in her head. Once it was gone, there was no sign that she had ever been wounded in the first place.

Just as she was about to swing it, she halted halfway. Rust covered the broadsword, and it slowly crumbled away. In her blood-addled mind, she thought about a penalty from one of her job classes — Cursed Knight — and she tossed it away in a vaguely disappointed manner. Then, she casually flicked one of those delicate ivory hands of hers.

And thus, three skulls rolled to the ground.

"Run away! Run away! Run for your lives!"

"We can't beat a monster like that!"

The sellswords screamed and fled in all directions.

Having lost all will to fight, one of the running men was seized from behind by Shalltear, who grasped his head with both her hands and squeezed. His head popped open like a shellfish having its carapace cracked open, and his brains squirted out.

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Whaaaaat's that look on your faces, are you scaaaaared~? Wait a minute, hahahahahaha! Hang on a bit, I'm iiiiiiiiitttt—! Hahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"

Their curiosity piqued by that sinister voice, the sellswords turned to see a stomach-churning sight. The blood-drunk queen of nightmares chased them down, not allowing a single mercenary to escape.

One of the fleeing men stumbled, rolling beneath Shalltear's feet.

"Spare me! Please! I won't do anything bad again!"

As she looked on the man, crying and whimpering for mercy as he grabbed her leg, Shalltear's face split into a predatory grin. The sellsword immediately understood what that smile meant and his face turned an ashen gray.

"—So hiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh uuuuuupppppp~"

"Noooo! Stop—!"

Still clutching her leg, the man was lifted bodily into the air. With one hand clutching his back, she threw him lightly at the ceiling.

Unable to resist her supernatural arm-strength, the mercenary finally let go and squeezed his eyes shut. After a brief period of weightlessness, he felt the pull of gravity dragging him down again; and then his hand struck the ground, sending a gout of pain through his body.

"Waaaaaah!"

Being able to feel pain was proof that he was still alive. The mercenary, grateful for being able to escape death, eased his eyes open ever-so-slightly, and then he realized that he had been celebrating too soon. This was because Shalltear's slender ivory-white hands had gently embraced him, not allowing him to fully touch the ground.

He had not escaped from the clutches of this terrifying monster.

No, not just that — a gaping maw opened before him, looking like a lump of clotted blood, radiating a stench he had never encountered before.

"Hahaha, hahaha, how fuuuuuuuuun~ Did you really think you could die so easilyyyyyyyyy~ Nooooooooooope~" she said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Spare, spare me—"

"Noooooooooope— I haven't fed in soooooooooo looooooong~"

Her mouth opened until it was past her ears, until it was big enough to gulp an entire skull down.

Nobody here knew this.

Nobody here knew that the monsters called True Ancestors in the DMMO-RPG YGGDRASIL were physical incarnations of disaster.

The mouth that opened to the height of her ears was in a semicircular shape, and the two canines within it were long enough that they reached her chin. Her brilliant scarlet eyes were the color of blood, and the fingertips of her dried-wood arms sprouted claws that were about ten centimeters long. She looked like she was hunched over whenever she moved, and leapt at her prey in a flying charge.

That was the the posture she had.

Vampires were monsters which were crossbreeds of humans and bats, and the high tier Origin Vampires looked more monstrous than the others.

The only Vampire-type monsters which could be said to be beautiful were Shalltear's concubines, the Vampire Brides.

The only reason why Shalltear the True Vampire looked so beautiful was because her guild member who designed her was skilled at drawing and turning his art into reality.

Shalltear's current appearance was her original look as a True Vampire. In other words, her usual appearance was merely a sham.

Like a rubber toy, or a bloated, disgusting leech, Shalltear gnawed at the sellsword's throat.

It was not clear if the sellsword first felt dozens of needles pierce his throat, or if he heard the gross sound of his blood being drained away in an instant.

The man felt his very existence being siphoned away, and the chilling dread of that realization instilled a terror in him which he had never felt before.

However, even as he tried to struggle, his limbs grew heavy and his eyesight darkened.

After draining him dry, Shalltear tossed aside the dessicated corpse, licking off a stray drop of blood with a moist, gleaming tongue. Then, she smiled brightly at the other sellswords, who did not know if they should flee.

"Sooooooooo~ maaanyyyyy~ mooooooore~ snaaaaaacks~ for meeeeeeee~"

Countless screams of anger and cries of despair echoed through the great hall—

Shalltear grinned evilly as she stood within the silent hall which was now devoid of any movement. The orb of blood above her head had absorbed a lot of fresh gore, to the point where it was only a little smaller than her head.

"Thaaaaaaat waaaaas fuuuuuuuuuun~"

After hearing Shalltear's exclamation of delight, the Vampire Bride — who had been stationed at the hall's entrance to prevent anyone from escaping — lowered her head and added:

"I am glad that you enjoyed yourself, my noble master."

"Time for the maaaaaaiiiiiiin diiiiiishhhh~"

Shalltear wrenched open the door to the storeroom into which Brain had fled, bursting the lock off. The hinges still hung from the door in Shalltear's hand.

The storeroom was cramped, with several bags and boxes within.

It was here that Shalltear smelled something surprising — fresh air, scented with dust, the aroma of the wind from outdoors. At the same time, the spoor of a human grew fainter. Shalltear might have lost herself in her Blood Frenzy, but she still remembered the mission assigned to her.

"Kuwaaaaaaah—!"

With a furious roar, Shalltear shoved away the obstacles in her path, and advanced to the place from which the wind blew.

She found a hole behind the boxes, which had been blocked up by sandstone less than a meter ahead. The fresh air flowed in from a gap in the rock.

"An escaaaaaaaaape tunneeeeeellllll—!?"

The Lesser Vampire had not been lying — he did not know there was an escape passage here.

A problem one often ran into with the use of magical charms was that one could only learn what the subject already knew. The target could not give answers which they did not have, and if they believed a falsehood to be the truth, then the questioner would only learn the falsehood.

Unlike Mare, Shalltear did not have any magic to move the earth, If she tried to clear it with a shockwave, it might drop the entire ceiling on them.

He had escaped.

Those words floated to the fore within her bloodsoaked thoughts. To some extent, Shalltear understood that she had failed in her part of the mission.

Shalltear snarled in anger.

Why was this pitiful insect of a human being not moving in accordance to the wishes of Shalltear, a Guardian of Nazarick?

All I want is to turn your unnecessary lives into a feeble contribution to the glory of Nazarick; why don't you understand and rejoice in that fact?

Shalltear ground her teeth, and then the Vampire Bride who had been assigned to lookout duty called out from behind her.

"—lady Shalltear!"

The fact that one of her Vampire Brides had left her post incensed Shalltear, and her vision turned red as she briefly entertained the idea of killing her. In the end, she managed to bank the flames of her wrath with great effort. If she had left her position for an important matter, then she should be spared.

"Whaaaaaaat — is iiiiiiiiiiit?"

"Several people are headed this way."

"Hm~ Leftover survivoooooooors~? Theeeeeeen~ let's go out and meet theeeeeeeeeem—! Ahahaha, hahaha, hahahahaha!"

Shalltear leapt up and, like a little bird flitting through the night, she hopped over the log barricade at the cave entrance. The Vampire Brides which accompanied her slowly advanced forward.

Shalltear looked on her targets with a smile.

They were a disciplined, well-trained party.

The frontliners comprised three male warriors, each equipped with different gear, but all of them had on a hauberk of scale armor, with a weapon in hand and a large shield on their backs.

Behind them was a red-haired female warrior in banded armor.

There was a lightly-dressed man holding a staff in the rear. He was probably an arcane magic caster. Beside him was a divine magic caster who wore a cleric's robe over his armor and had a holy symbol shaped like a flame around his neck.

There were six of them in total, and although they were surprised at the sight of Shalltear as she emerged from the cave, they calmly went on alert, a movement born of accumulated experience.

"That's gooooooood~"

Although it was not bad to slaughter weak humans, who had the consistency of tofu, more resilient opponents like this were more interesting.

WIth a look of anticipation in her crimson eyes, Shalltear directed a predatory grin at the people before them.

"Speak!"

Shock appeared on the face of the arcane magic caster, but only for a moment, and then his expression hardened.

"Enemy: probable Vampire! Only silver or magic weapons effective! Unbeatable opponent! Fighting withdrawal! Don't look at her eyes!"

—A cry rang forth, easily audible by anyone in this depression.

The shouted commands had been pared down to the bare minimum, and everyone swiftly reacted to them. The warrior at the lead unlimbered his large shield and took a defensive stance. He averted his eyes, looking instead at Shalltear's chest and belly.

During this time, the female warrior behind them had taken up the weapon passed to her by the warrior in front and began applying something to it.

An unpleasant odor wafted into Shalltear's nose.

It was alchemical silver.

This was a sticky salve made by alchemists. The magical substance spread across the weapon when applied, coating it in a thin membrane and making it function as though it were made of silver.

Weapons made of silver were not only more expensive than regular weapons, but they were softer than steel and not suitable for long-term use. Therefore, many adventurers purchased salves like this and applied them to their weapons when the need arose, allowing them to temporarily take on the properties of silver.

Wielding weapons which now radiated a silver gleam, the group moved to corral their foe as they fell back.

Their fighting withdrawal was an impressive display. The party seemed to be like a single organism as they fell back in an orderly manner.

"My Lord, O God of Fire—"

"Enough with the useless stuff, hurry up and cast a defensive spell!"

The arcane magic caster restrained the cleric — who was planning to raise his holy symbol — and then began casting a spell on the frontliners. The cleric followed suit.

Although the exact composition varied between jobs, most clerics could use divine power to turn, rebuke or destroy creatures such as undead, demons, angels, and the like. However, these abilities only worked on monsters weaker than themselves. In other words, the arcane magic caster had seen the cleric preparing to turn undead with divine might, instantly divined the difference in strength between their foes and themselves, and then instructed him to do something else with his power.

As she watched this series of actions, Shalltear eyed the leader of the party, intending to capture him in accordance with her orders. However, the murderous impulse to spill more blood slowly dyed her heart a crimson red.

She wanted to slaughter them, pulverize them, dismember them, and bathe in their blood. Her breathing grew ragged and she began foaming at the mouth.

"「Anti-Evil Protection」."

"「Lesser Mind Protection」."

The two magic casters laid their spells upon the frontline warriors.

A vague hunt of respect bloomed in Shalltear's overexcited mind. Although these spells were of the lowest tier — the first tier, in fact — they were still the most suitable magic for the current situation. They were unlike the sellswords who had lashed out thoughtlessly, or that stupid warrior who had come out by himself without even knowing martial arts.

Still — no matter how hard they struggled, meaningless actions were still meaningless. Against a foe who was so overwhelmingly superior to them, nothing they did could possibly mean anything.

Their adorable show of resistance was the last straw that broke the back of Shalltear's wavering self-control.

"I can't… I can't take itttttttttt— I can't hold back any moooore~!"

With a cry like she had torn free of her bindings, Shalltear stepped forward.

Her steps were light and easy, like a dancer's. However, to the people before her, she moved faster than the wind.

She thrust out a spear hand.

It pierced her victim's shield, shattered his armor, ignored his magical protections, ripped straight through his skin, muscle, and bone, and closed around the heart which had been beating just a moment ago. And then — she tore it out. As she stood over the body of the collapsed warrior, Shalltear held up the reddish-black mass of tissue — deformed in her grip — before the others. The female warrior whimpered in fear, while the priest's face twisted in anger.

Shalltear had expected these reactions. Satisfaction filled her as she watched them, and with a revolting smile, she cast a spell.

"「Animate Dead」."

The warrior who had lost his heart slowly stood back up, now transformed into a Zombie, the lowest tier of undead. Yet, she was not finished.

Shalltear gulped down the heart she was holding, and then reached into the orb of blood floating above her. What she brought back down was a pulsing lump of gore — a caricature of a heart. She then tossed the lump into the Zombie.

The blood-lump writhed like a maggot, then distorted itself as it flowed into the Zombie's body. In an instant, the Zombie shuddered, its body spasming several times before its exterior slowly changed.

It seemed as though all the water had evaporated from its body, given how its skin had turned into something which resembled dried bark. It sprouted sharp claws and its canines jutted out. Before long, the undead creature before them could no longer be considered a Zombie.

As they watched the birth of a Lesser Vampire, the adventurers exclaimed in shock.

"Impossible! I've never heard of a Vampire which could use such high tier magic without cost!"

"You're looking at one right now, so don't panic! Calm down and think!"

"But…!"

"—Retreat's going to be hard! Attack!"

"Oh!"

The cleric panicked. Perhaps the others had been influenced by that, but one of the warriors swung at Shalltear. The other attacked his former comrade, who was now a Lesser Vampire.

"My Lord, O God of Fire, repel the unclean!"

The cleric held up his holy symbol, which emitted a burst of divine power. Of course, it had no effect on Shalltear.

"Ahhhhahahahahaahaha!"

The sword of one of the warriors bit into the body of the Lesser Vampire, which had been immobilized, possibly by the cleric's divine power. This was a half-baked Lesser Vampire which had been made from a Zombie, which was why the divine power was actually effective, but the knowledge that the Zombie she had made had lost to divine power displeased Shalltear.

She flicked her little finger, parrying the sword pointed at her, and then glared annoyedly at the cleric who stood in the back line.

"Geeeeet looooooosst—!"

She casually swiped her right hand, but this careless blow was enough to behead the sword-wielding warrior, sending him to the ground in a spray of blood.

"「Lesser Strength」."

That buff spell was cast on the final warrior, who was now fighting a slowed down Lesser Vampire with his own enhanced body. The warrior had the upper hand, and pressed his advantage.

Since they seemed to be having fun, Shalltear decided to leave them be. After all, there was still prey remaining. Her mind clouded with bloodlust, Shalltear turned to the cleric before her.

The female warrior stepped forward, putting herself into the line of fire, though she only wielded an ordinary steel weapon.

How adorable, she's still taking a stance with a sword despite her fear — though that was ultimately the pitiful resistance of a small animal. A wave of heat and delight grew in Shalltear's lower abdomen.

What sounds would she make when she chewed off her fingertips? Maybe she could cut off her ears and feed them to her. No, she should drink her blood first. After all, she was the first female prey she had encountered since she had come to the outside.

"You'll be my desseeeeeeeeerrrrrtttttt~" Shalltear bellowed from her gaping maw as she leapt over the woman.

Easily leaping over the female warrior, Shalltear landed before the arcane magic caster and the cleric.

Before the cleric could react, Shalltear already had the hand holding his holy symbol in her grasp, and she squeezed. The cleric's bones disintegrated under that irresistible force, and shreds of muscle and skin squirted from the gaps between Shalltear's fingers.

"Guwaaaaaargh—!"

After hearing the cleric's cries, Shalltear was quite pleased with herself, and decided to grant him mercy and end his torment.

With a wave of her hand, the blood spurting from the stump of the cleric's neck flowed into the orb of blood above Shalltear's head. She nodded in delight.

At this point, somebody thrust a sword into Shalltear's back with all their strength. However, attacks like that were completely ineffective against her. Shalltear stood firm like a great tree, though she found the swordpoint protruding from her chest a minor inconvenience.

"No way… it's not working!? Isn't this a silver weapon!?"

The sword had pierced her chest — and her heart, as it turned out — but Shalltear's nonchalance drew a garbled scream from the female warrior.

Since the female warrior did not have a silver weapon, she must have taken it from the body of the slain warrior.

The arcane magic caster was correct, but he was not entirely right. In order to harm Shalltear, one needed a weapon made of silver and possessing sufficient mana, or a weapon with a powerful elemental enchantment. Simply being made of silver was not enough.

Shalltear paid the female warrior behind her no heed, and looked at the shocked arcane magic caster.

"「Magic Arrow」!"

In desperation, the magic caster cast a spell, sending two arrows of light streaking at Shalltear. However, they were easily resisted.

This was the result of one of Shalltear's special abilities — spell resistance. It was not a perfect defense, and depended on the attacker's own strength. However, given the precipitous gap between their power levels, she could easily resist spells from him.

In other words, there was nothing the arcane magic caster could do to Shalltear.

"Sooooooo~ booooooooooor~ iiiiiiiiiiing~!"

With a casual wave of her hand, Shalltear relieved the person who no longer interested her of his head.

Looking back, she saw that the Lesser Vampire was still struggling with the other warrior.

Shalltear picked up the two fallen heads on the ground and tossed them at the two combatants. The heads — massing about six kilograms each — flew forth with supernatural speed. Then, as expected, both sides collapsed to the ground.

While Shalltear was not paying attention, the dessert (the female warrior) flailed wildly at Shalltear's body with her sword.

Still, what good did that do?

It did not hurt or even bother Shalltear, and it was a meaningless gesture. The only effect it had was opening up holes in her clothes, but as long as Shalltear herself was fine, the magic clothing would automatically restore itself.

"Now theeeeeen~ desseeeeeerrrrrtttttt~! Let's eeeeeeaaaaatttt~!"

Shalltear sounded like a child leaving their favorite food for the last — however, she had a nauseating, wicked smile on her face as she turned to face the female warrior who was hacking away at her back.

As the female warrior met Shalltear's crimson gaze, the female warrior realised that she was the sole survivor, and stumbled back, eyes glistening with tears. She scrabbled at her waist pouch, fishing around inside for something.

Shalltear leisurely savored the blood-dimmed world before her. She seemed curious about what the woman was doing.

Soon, the female warrior pulled out a bottle and threw it.

Shalltear narrowed her eyes at the bottle tumbling through the air, and smiled coldly.

Although the female warrior had hurled it with all her strength, the speed at which the bottle travelled seemed almost unbearably slow to Shalltear. She could have easily dodged it, but her pride as one of the strong did not allow her to avoid it. In addition, she wanted to see the look on the woman's face when her final trump card crumbled before her eyes.

The urge to slaughter grew and grew.

However, Shalltear tamped it down. After all, the more she controlled herself, the sweeter her delight would be when she finally indulged herself.

Shalltear watched the bottle flying at herself, and idly contemplated it.

It was probably holy water, or some sort of firebomb. She refused to give up despite knowing her struggles did not matter, and continued her pitiful resistance. Perhaps she should start by making her suffer until she prayed for death before slowly tasting her blood. If she was a virgin, she would drain her dry, but if not there were all sorts of lovely games they could play together, as long as she minimized the amount of blood lost.

Having made her decision, Shalltear swatted aside the flying bottle. The force of swiping at the bottle caused the crimson fluid within it to spill from the bottle's mouth and splash on Shalltear's skin.

And then — there was a faint stinging pain.

The insides of Shalltear's mind went white for a moment, and her bloodlust was instantly extinguished.

She looked at the place from which the pain had come, which was the hand which had batted the bottle aside. An acrid odor and a wisp of smoke boiled up from the place where the liquid had touched her.

Shalltear turned to look at the fallen bottle. Its mouth was open, and a faint, sweet scent came from it. Shalltear was very familiar with that container.

It was a potion bottle of the kind commonly used in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The liquid within should have been a low tier healing potion. Since healing items could damage the undead, it was probably why Shalltear's skin had been slightly dissolved.

"Impossible!"

Her roar shook the very air.

"Capture that woman unharmed!"

Upon hearing Shalltear's command, the Vampire Brides — who had only been watching from the sidelines up till now — sprang into action. In an instant, they had seized the arms of the female warrior while she attempted to flee during Shalltear's brief stupor.

The female warrior struggled valiantly, but the Vampire Brides' strength far outmatched hers, and they dragged her before Shalltear.

"Look into my eyes!"

Shalltear seized the female warrior's chin and forced her to look into her mystic eyes. Of course, she was very careful to control the amount of force that she used. It would be quite troublesome if she ended up wrenching the woman's jaw off because she used too much strength.

This was because Shalltear could not use regular healing spells, despite being a divine magic caster.

A thin film seemed to cover the eyes of the female warrior as she was forced to meet Shalltear's enchanted gaze. The look of fear and hostility on her face soon became one of friendliness. This was the charming effect of the 「Mystic Eyes of Charm」 skill, and Shalltear ordered the female warrior released once she felt it had taken full effect.

There were many questions she wanted to ask, However, one burned ahead of all the others.

Shalltear picked up the fallen bottle and held it before the female warrior's face.

"Tell me about this potion! Who did you get it from!?"

"A man in black armor gave it to me at the inn."

What about it? The female warrior's answer seemed to leave that unsaid, and Shalltear's body seemed to freeze over.

"...No way… no, this can't be… but… where… in which city is this inn?"

"It was an inn located in E-Rantel."

Shalltear gasped in shock as she felt the world spin. This was because she had a rough idea of who the black-armored man actually was.

If her guess was correct, that only raised more questions. Why did this woman have this potion? That person would not give out potions for no reason.

"Could it be…"

Had that person given the female warrior an order? Or perhaps he had given it to her in order to strengthen their good relations?

Shalltear recalled the dashing image of the supreme one, the absolute rulers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The unease she felt at possibly having ruined one of her master's plans filled her with limitless frustration.

"Why did you come here? What was your objective?"

She was no longer in the mood to dance around the topic. She had to find out as much as possible, and so she stared at the female warrior with eyes that were now bloodshot for a completely different reason.

"Yes. Our job is to protect the city, so we came to investigate when we heard there was a bandits' nest nearby. In the end, we found something strange, so we split up our team. Our party was responsible for a reconnaissance in force, which brought us here."

"You split your team?"

"Yes. We didn't know how many bandits were present, so we decided to split up and draw the enemy into a trapped area the other party was setting up."

"So there's another team," Shalltear muttered. She clicked her tongue as she realised that this meant more trouble for her.

"Then, how many of you came here?"

"There were seven people including me, and then—"

"Hm? Wait, seven people? Not six?"

Shalltear counted the corpses around them. Three warriors, one mage, one cleric — and this woman. The numbers did not add up.

The female warrior's answer to Shalltear's doubt-filled gaze was direct and to the point:

"Yes, there was also a ranger. He said that he would hurry back to E-Rantel for help if an emergency occurred."

"Say what…?"

The arcane magic caster's voice had been very loud — loud enough that everyone in the depression could hear him.

"Kuh!"

Eyes wide open, Shalltear charged up the sides of the lowlands, faster than the wind. She leapt over the edge and looked around, but even her darkvision-capable eyes could not penetrate the depths of the forest, and though she listened carefully, she could only hear the wind blowing on the grass and trees.

Shalltear did not possess any detection abilities or divination magic. Under these circumstances, finding a single person in the entire forest would probably be impossible.

"Son of a bitch!" she cursed.

He had escaped; she had been too careless. Shalltear ground her teeth as she realized that she had let two of her prey slip away.

"Familiars!"

Several shadows wavered into existence near Shalltear's feet. The shapes of several wolves appeared, but unlike regular wolves, their fur was black as night, and their eyes radiated a malevolent crimson glow.

They were level seven monsters, Vampire Wolves.

One of the skills Shalltear possessed was called 「Household Summons」, which allowed her to call forth various monsters. However, these were the ones best suited to tracking and pursuit.

"Hunt down and kill everyone in the forest!"

Upon hearing the shouted order, the ten Vampire Wolves surged into the woods as one.

As she watched the Vampire Wolves leave, Shalltear felt that there was very little chance that they could eliminate the opposition. She thought of Aura, and mused that even if he was not as talented as her, the opponent was still a ranger, and ought to know how to evade pursuit.

In other words, he would probably escape. If that was the case, what should she do next? Shalltear hurriedly returned and seized the female warrior before asking:

"Did anyone else receive a potion or other items from the man in black armor?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Really now! Then, next question, will that ranger link up with the other party?"

"No. Our plan was that if either of the parties was in danger of being wiped out, he would abandon the other one and return to the city. That choice had the highest chance of keeping us alive."

They had made meticulous preparations in case they failed, and it was this careful planning which had left her powerless to respond. As Shalltear realized this, anger burned within her.

"How dare you miserable humans come up with so many tricky ideas — if I earn the right to rule you, I'll treat you like the worms that you are!"

Still, even venting her spleen would not change the present circumstances.

The opposition would bring news that there was a Vampire here back to the city.

Although Shalltear did not know if the opposition had clearly seen her face, human eyesight would probably not be able to discern the identity of Shalltear in the depression.

Even so—

"Shit!"

Shalltear cursed again, and then continued to think.

The orders Ainz had given her were—

Your prey this time are criminals and other undesirables whose absence will not be missed.

For instance, if you encounter anyone among the bandits who can use magic or martial arts, you are to capture them at all costs, even if you have to drain them dry and make them your slaves. You are also to capture anyone who knows about this world and who is skilled in combat. However, do not make waves; if people know Nazarick is making a move, it might cause a lot of trouble for us.

—And that was it.

That being the case, she had already violated many aspects of those orders.

Shalltear struggled to resist the impulse to scratch at her head.

"It's still okay, it's still okay, it's still okay."

She seemed to be trying to persuade herself.

Perhaps the other side would bring the news of a Vampire back, but her name and the involvement of Nazarick would not be exposed.

In other words, she had not left any clues which would link the Vampire attack here to Nazarick. If the people in the city thought about it, they would only conclude that the sellswords here had been slaughtered by a wild Vampire — if one existed in the area.

There were inconsistencies everywhere, but the opposition would not be able to find them without gathering more information.

Shalltear continued thinking.

The question now was what to do with this woman under the current conditions.

Though she was currently charmed, this woman had not completely lost her memory. The quickest way would be to kill her, but that posed problems of its own; namely, why Shalltear's master had given this woman that potion.

If her master had given her the potion for some reason or purpose, then killing this woman would obstruct her master's goals, which would be very bad.

If she let her go, her employers would definitely ask why she was the only one who had survived. In addition, she knew a lot — in particular, Shalltear's appearance. While that was not a problem now, nobody could tell how that situation might develop in the future.

The best way would be to contact her master, but Shalltear could not use the 「Message」 spell.

Then what should she do—

"Ahhhh— the Supreme ones will surely scold me…"

Shalltear muttered so softly that nobody could hear, grabbing her head in agonized thought.

"If only I didn't have this 「Blood Frenzy」... no, saying that would be disrespectful to my creator, lord Peroroncino. If only I could control this 「Blood Frenzy」…"

It was too late for any regrets, and no matter how she dealt with this woman, it seemed a scolding would be inevitable. The question now was how to minimize the damage which had been done.

"Worse" was still better than the "worst."

Shalltear thought and thought, until it seemed smoke would start to come out of her ears, before coming to a conclusion.

Rather than killing her, letting her live gave her more options. She could not take back the fact that she had killed her, but sparing her allowed room for the situation to play out.

That was what Shalltear had decided. Or rather, this was how desperately she was trying to delude herself.

"What is your name?"

"Britta."

Shalltear ordered the girl called Britta to stay where she was, then brought her two Vampire Bride servants some distance away:

"In any case, let's recover everything here and then retreat right away."

She had her doubts about whether there would be time for that. However, she still had to take a chance and hope that the opposition would think that wealth had been her objective. Though she had failed in her mission, she still had to make plans to spread false information.

"lady Shalltear, what should we do with the women?"

As she heard the question, Shalltear looked to Britta in the distance.

"Leave her be."

"No, I was referring to the other women."

"—What? What other women?"

"Yes, lady Shalltear. I searched the interior to root out any fish who slipped our net, and I found several women who seem to have been used to satisfy the men's lusts. What should we do with them?"

Shalltear's face froze.

What was this all about?

Shalltear turned back to look.

If her face had not been seen, she could leave them and be done with it. However, she did not know if that was the right choice. She should probably kill them all as well. No, if she did that, it would be quite unnatural for Britta to be the sole survivor.

Shalltear was frustrated that she could not come to a conclusion which benefited her.

"What should we do—"

"Hah!? I don't know!"

The look on Shalltear's face seemed to say, Why the hell are you lot telling me all of this? As long as I don't know, I can claim ignorance, but if I know and deliberately ignore it, I'll be betraying my master.

"Whatever! I don't know! Leave them be, dump them here! Throw Britta in with those women!"

"Will that be all right?"

"How the hell should I know, dammit, shut the hell up!"

"My apologies, lady Shalltear."

"We're leaving, get ready!"

The Vampire Brides bowed and began moving. Shalltear grabbed her head and slowly crouched down.

"...I'm going to be scolded for sure… what should I do… however… hm?"

Shalltear raised her head, looking toward the part of the forest where the Vampire Wolves had gone.

"...Did they find him?"

Shalltear sensed the disappearance of her familiars. It was not the disappearance of magical banishment, but the discorporation of being killed.

"Follow me after you take care of that woman! Get the marker ready!"

Having made a decision, Shalltear paused only to snap off a terse command before sprinting out at lightning speeds.

Although she was forced to slow down in the forest, as long as her targets were human beings, they could not escape from Shalltear's clutches, even when mounted.

She burst from the forest, to the last known position of her familiars.

There were twelve people before her.

Each person was attired in a full panoply of equipment which varied between each of them.

Their gear was not simple and functional, but as decorative and unique as Shalltear's own equipment. They looked quite potent at a glance. Of course, Shalltear did not have any skills to discern the power of magic items, so she had to go by her gut, but she felt that their magic items might be of legendary class or above.

Doubts appeared in Shalltear's head, given that she had no idea where these people hailed from. These twelve people seemed completely different from the others that Shalltear had seen in this world. It was the difference between a lion and a mouse.

Shalltear considered the twelve men and women, and her gaze finally rested on one of them, a man.

That man… is he strong?

Shalltear was surprised and had no levels in dedicated warrior classes, so her assessment of her opposition's strength told her that he was not only stronger than the Vampire Brides she had brought along, but stronger still than Solution, the Pleiades battle maid.

Shalltear took a closer look at the man.

The gear he wore seemed to have been designed for use by a man, which was why she had pegged him as a male, but he seemed quite androgynous in appearance.

She did not know if he was male or female, since he resembled both a man or a woman, yet did not look like either. He was not very tall, and seemed quite youthful. Perhaps he was still growing, which only made it harder to tell.

His hair was black and long, almost reaching the ground, while his keen eyes had red pupils which regarded Shalltear with caution. He carried a plain-looking spear which seemed incongruous with the rest of his equipment.

"—Use it."

The man issued a clear, crisp command — like the surface of a frozen lake — and panic broke out in the rest of the party. Shalltear had no idea what those words meant. However, she imagined that whatever was being used was powerful, possibly enough to rival Shalltear's sole divine class item.

The others sprang into action in response to the command, but Shalltear paid them no heed. There was only one person who stood out in her reckoning; the others did not seem like much of a threat.

The group's formation was centered around a woman in a strange dress.

It had a high-necked collar, with two long slits on either sides, so it was probably some sort of ladies' full length dress. It was silver in color, with a five-clawed dragon picked out in gold thread along its surface.

In the supreme beings world, this sort of dress would be called a qipao.

However, the woman wearing it was very old, her face was full of wrinkles, and her exposed legs looked like burdocks or dried potatoes. That dress was thoroughly unsuitable for her and frankly speaking, it made onlookers frown. Shalltear even went so far as to avert her eyes.

However, this was the last link in a long chain of accidents and coincidences.

If even a tiny little detail had occurred differently, things might have turned out some other way.

If the supreme ones had not captured Nigun, if they had not counterattacked the Theocracy's divination spells so fiercely, if the Theocracy had not mistaken this for the revival of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, if Shalltear had not been distracted — perhaps events would have unfolded differently. However, the sum of all these possibilities might have instead been phrased as an inevitability.

That qipao was called 「Downfall of Castle and Country」. This was a sacred treasure left behind by the gods who saved all humanity, and its power exceeded that of anything which Shalltear carried.

—Shalltear shivered.

This was the first time which Shalltear — as a Guardian, one of the highest-ranking entities in the Great Tomb of Nazarick — had ever shivered. It was a subtle observation, or one could call it a warning from a sixth sense.

Shalltear's eyes turned, intending to seize the old lady her instincts were warning her about.

That human had to die at all costs.

The spear-wielding man rushed at her just as she realized this and was about to make her move.

"Get lost!"

Shalltear batted him aside with all her might. However, when subjected to a strike that would pulverize a weak human being, the man was simply knocked back and did not perish on the spot. In addition, his will to fight was still intact despite being blown away.

Shalltear cast a spell, centered on the old lady.

"「Mass Hold Species」!"

She wanted to capture several people. This was because she had a premonition that capturing these people would not only make up for her previous errors, but earn her praise.

As she thought that, Shalltear's mind suddenly turned white.

It felt as though part of her thought processes were gone, because she could not comprehend what was happening. And then, when she realised what had happened, Shalltear was shaken to the core, fear filling her undead heart.

This was mind control.

As an undead being, she should have had complete immunity to mind-controlling items, yet her will was still being dominated. She desperately tried to engrave hatred and anger on her gradually-whitening consciousness, and as her mind pondered countless variations of the worst-case scenario—

"Giiiiiiiiih—!"

—She wailed, weeping tears of blood as she struggled to fight back against the dominating force which was corrupting her, a Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

However, despite Shalltear's frantic resistance, her will was steadily bleached away. Nor could she use teleportation magic. This was because her mind would be completely overshadowed if she allowed herself to be distracted by such matters.

Shalltear used a class skill to create a 「Purifying Javelin」. It was a gigantic lance of the holy element, and despite her own evil alignment, it could still cause massive damage to her foes. The most important thing was that she could spend MP to imbue it with perfect accuracy and tracking ability.

As she marshalled her utmost opposition, Shalltear glared at the user of the technique, the old lady who was planning to defile her. She did not take the man who held the large, mirror-like shield standing between her and the old lady into consideration.

And then — she threw it.

With the part of her mind that was still conscious and aware, she hurled the lance which she held.

As her mind went white, she used that skill of hers to the full extent of its power, striking an augmented blow.

The strike flashed by in a streak of light and struck the old lady after penetrating the body of the man in front of her and the shield he was holding.

The last thing Shalltear saw was the panicked group and the two of them coughing up blood in agony.

—-

This was the Royal Capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

In its heart, surrounded by a keep made from over twenty vast circular towers joined by curtain walls was the Royal Castle Ro-Lente. Within its depths lay the Valencia Palace.

There was a room within the Palace that was more functional than decorative. Many nobles were gathered there.

The form of the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff, was visible in their midst. He was currently genuflecting before the master to whom he had sworn his life, the man who sat on the throne, King Ranpossa III.

He seems to have gotten older.

That was the impression the King gave him when he compared the man now to how he had been half a month ago, when he had set out.

His beloved liege's pale hair was a mess, his skinny body could not be described as healthy by any stretch of the word, and his complexion was similarly poor. The hand which grasped his scepter was as slender as a dried branch, and the crown he wore seemed to hang heavily on his head.

He had reigned for thirty nine years, and he was now sixty years old. He should have handed the throne to an appropriate successor, but the problem was that he had no such successor

It was not because there was a lack of princes to inherit the throne. On the contrary, there were two princes, but both of them were far from ideal. If he gave them the throne, they would become puppets dancing on the strings of the Great Nobles.

The old man spoke weakly:

"Warrior-Captain, I am glad that you have returned safely."

"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Those sympathetic words drew a deep bow from Gazef as he responded.

"Umu. I have received some reports, but I would like to hear what happened from your own mouth, Warrior-Captain."

"Understood."

Gazef described in detail the events of what had happened after he left the Royal Capital and reached Carne Village. He paid particular attention to the group of mysterious magic caster who are AinzOoal Gown, Sieg and Laeticia, but he did not mention his suspicions of the Slaine Theocracy's involvement. This was because Gazef felt it would be best if less people knew about the matter, and so it was inadvisable to speak about it in this place.

And so, Gazef talked and talked. He narrated a heroic tale of a man who stepped in to right a wrong in his way, who plunged fearlessly into danger to rescue the villagers, with no regard to the cost to himself.

"Is that so? That certainly is a glowing review of them. To think, people like them would go into danger to save the weak…"

Several nobles exchanged patronizing gossip about the three great magic casters as the King muttered those words of praise.

A problematic group.

A group of deviants people who did not dare reveal their faces to the world.

Magic casters with strange name.

In the end, they even brought up the idea that they might have staged the attack in order to advertise themselves.

Gazef strove to keep his anger from showing on his face. He felt profoundly useless for being unable to defend his saviors from their words.

There was a reason for that, of course. That was because the nobles mocking Ainz and his friends had one thing in common — they were from one of the big factions in the Kingdom; that of the Great Nobles.

Thirty percent of the Re-Estize Kingdom was directly ruled by the King, while the Great Nobles controlled another thirty percent. The remaining forty percent was a feudal domain which belonged to the other nobles. In addition, the Kingdom's leadership was divided into two factions, which struggled for power all day and night.

On one hand was the Royal faction, while on the other was the Noble faction, which was composed of more than half of the Kingdom's Six Great Nobles. Though they were currently before the King, this was merely an extension of the battlefield where both sides did battle.

Because of that, Gazef — being of the Royal faction, and thus the King's trusted servant — was unwilling to interject casually. He knew that his own clumsy phrasings could not possibly defeat those nobles, so he had to instead minimize his own chances of misspeaking.

...The Slaine Theocracy's secret forces knew how we were moving and showed up at the right time… that means there's a high chance of a spy within the Kingdom. That being the case, it might be one of the Noble faction's people...

Gazef's gaze turned to one of the nobles, who had an exceptionally cold look in his eyes.

His blond hair was tied back, and he had a pair of narrow, blue eyes.

His skin was the same wan color unique to those who avoided the sun. He projected the image of a venomous snake that was only reinforced by his slim build.

He should have been less than forty years old, but his unhealthy complexion made him seem older than that.

His name was Marquis Raeven, one of the Six Great Nobles. He flitted between both factions like a bat for his own gain, and he was one of those who backed the King's second son.

If there was a traitor to the King, it should be him, right?

Sensing Gazef's eyes upon him, Marquis Raeven quirked up the edge of his already-thin lips. Gazef stiffened up even further in response to this provocation.

"Then let us conclude your report here, Warrior-Captain. There are other important matters to decide."

Those tired words from the King briefly silenced the chatter from the clustered nobles. Gazef returned to the King's side and surveyed the nobles. As a man with the King's trust, he was already used to their displeased glares.

"Then, if tradition holds, we ought to be going to war with the Empire in several month's time. Let us discuss how we will address this matter. Marquis Raeven, explain to everyone."

"Understood, your Majesty."

The ghost-like man walked silently before them, and began speaking in a low voice.

Nobody interrupted him. Not only did he have influence in each faction, but he was also the most powerful of the Six Great Nobles. Nobody would dare make an enemy of him.

Marquis Raeven outlined his plans for the future, describing how many men under arms he would require of each noble, all without meeting any opposition. When he was finished, he smiled haughtily and bowed to the King:

"—And that is all."

"Thank you, Marquis Raeven. Does anyone have any objections?"

The court became a sea of commotion once more, with people talking over each other.

"It's our turn to take the offensive. Let's attack the Empire while we're at it."

"Exactly! I'm getting tired of just beating back the Empire."

"Precisely. Let us show those fools in the Empire how frightening we can be."

"Indeed, you have it at that, Count-sama."

The laughter of lavishly-dressed men echoed through the court.

Don't be stupid.

How refreshing it would be if Gazef could actually say that.

The Kingdom and its neighbor, the Empire, faced off at the Katze Plains every year.

To date, neither side had sustained heavy casualties, but that was only because the Empire had not committed its forces to the battlefield. If they truly intended to conquer the Kingdom, there would be no need for them to form up at the Katze Plains and await the Kingdom's army.

Gazef and some of the nobles who could use their brains felt that the objective of these events was to deplete the strength of the Kingdom.

Take for instance the Kingdom with its peasant levies, compared to the Empire and its professional corps of knights.

It was immediately obvious whose troops were individually superior, which was why the Kingdom had to mobilize over twice as many troops as the Empire. As a result of fielding more men, they would need more rations for those men. Of course, there were some magic items which could produce food, but said food only qualified as such because of their nutritional value. Their taste was so revolting that even starving people would think twice about eating it. Thus, this magically created food could not substitute for proper rations.

In addition, the Empire chose the harvest season of the late-ripening wheat to invade, causing a lack of hands in the villages. This delayed the harvest of wheat and other grains.

In this way, the Kingdom would weaken without the need for a full-scale invasion, and this would weaken the power of the Crown.

Because of that, the Noble faction paid these consequences no heed. In fact, they were delighted by the Royal faction — their enemies — losing their power and influence.

Once the strength of the Kingdom fades, the Empire will invade in force. Do you think the enemy will truly be content with such small skirmishes? Why are you all so naive!?

The Noble faction believed that they would wield their absolute power forever. Gazef was particularly infuriated by these nobles.

"If that's the case, could it be that the suspicious magic caster who aided the Warrior-Captain is a man from the Empire? Perhaps he intends to infiltrate us as a spy."

"Ah, I see. You're right. They say the Empire has an academy which trains magic casters, so that's very likely."

"The people of the Slaine Theocracy have a given name, a baptismal name, and a surname. However, what if his name is an alias?"

"I feel uncomfortable about someone like that appearing in the Kingdom. Perhaps we should think of some way to deal with him?"

"Perhaps we could consider capturing him alive. Frankly speaking, the real problem is the Adventurer's Guild. They count several magic casters in their number and do as they please. We need to deal with them as soon as possible. Perhaps we could make them our vassals or something."

"Then, there are the fees the Guild collects. The adventurers within the Kingdom charge a ridiculous sum to eliminate monsters within our borders!"

"The best solution would be to bring him back here."

Gazef could no longer remain silent after hearing this. There was no way he could allow them to continue badmouthing the person who had saved himself, his subordinates, and the villagers.

"A moment, if you please. To begin with, that magic caster is well-disposed toward the Kingdom; it would not be a wise decision to try and capture someone like—"

Gazef had spoken in an attempt to redirect the increasingly biased talk within the court. Several nobles reacted with looks of disgust.

Gazef had reached his current position by the sole merit of his swordsmanship. He was little more than an upstart to these nobles with their long and distinguished histories.

Thus, Gazef was the subject of much derision. The fact that nobody could match his martial skills only deepened the nobles' resentment.

These highborn aristocrats could not bear to be outdone by someone of humbler origins than themselves.

Several nobles continued criticizing Ainz and his companion without waiting for Gazef to finish, and others joined in as well.

Upon his throne, the King spoke with a hoarse sigh:

"...That's enough. I feel that the Warrior-Captain's decision was not in error."

"Muu… well, if you say so, Your Majesty..."

The nobles did not retort, but instead temporarily concealed the mocking grins on their faces.

Gazef looked with gratitude at the liege who had selected him and to whom he had pledged his ultimate fealty.

The King saw the look in Gazef's eyes, and nodded.

Gazef was always tired after these meetings, filled as they were with power plays and flattery, but Gazef did not let his fatigue show on his face as he accompanied the King back to the Palace.

The King had injured his knee in a previous war, and he was unsteady on his feet even with a walking stick. Yet, Gazef did not extend a hand to support him, as a consideration for the King's dignity. In addition, if he had reached a state where he needed someone to support him in order to walk, the Noble faction's cries for him to abdicate would only grow louder, in order to secure a place for an easily-manipulated puppet prince on the throne.

Therefore, though Gazef regretted the necessity of such, he had to let the King walk on his own.

As they slowly walked down the corridor and neared his chambers, the King suddenly said:

"...We will still need the power of the nobles to halt the aggression of the Empire. If I denounced them on the spot, the Kingdom would tear itself apart without the need for an Imperial invasion."

Though it had come out abruptly, Gazef understood what the King wished to say, so he could only grit his teeth.

"How I envy the Empire."

Gazef could not find anything to say which could comfort the King and answer his mumblings.

The Empire had itself been a feudal kingdom three generations ago. However, the power of the nobles had been steadily eroded, and the current crop was now absolutely loyal to the reigning Emperor.

The reigning Emperor — Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix

His title of the Bloody Emperor had come from the river of blood that had flowed when he came to power. Gazef recalled the time when he had met the man himself on the battlefield; the Emperor who wanted to bring him into his service.

That Emperor was a born ruler.

"I apologize for not being able to protect you because of my lack of consideration. I could not even outfit you properly before giving you that dangerous command… Please forgive me for the lives of your men that were lost because of that… because of me."

"No, it's not like that…"

"Gazef, it's fine. And… while it cannot make up for their deaths, I would like to pay out some form of compensation to the families of the deceased. In addition, I would like to convey my gratitude to the people who'd saved you, and thank them for saving my closest confidante."

He should have been troubled by the idea that the King would actually thank a nameless commoner in person who had not personally aided him, but—

"If they are truly righteous people, then your words alone will be satisfaction enough."

"Is that so — hm?"

Two people came into view before the King's eyes. The one which caught his attention was the beautiful girl who walked in front. It was said that her loveliness was such that it could not be accurately reproduced in paintings; it was a truly indescribable beauty.

The King smiled. He had always favored his little princess over his other children.

Renner Theire Chardon Ryle Vaiself

As the third princess of the royal family, she had inherited her mother's blinding beauty, and she was renowned as the "Golden Princess."

Having reached the age of sixteen, it was about time for her to be married off. That too was a reason why the nobles were getting restless.

Her blonde hair was one of the reasons for her moniker. It flowed over her neck and down her back. Her smiling lips were a pale pink, yet she looked healthy and vital. Her sapphire-like eyes were a gentle and deep blue.

Her skillfully tailored white dress only added to the image of purity which she projected, while the golden necklace around her neck seemed to symbolize her noble spirit.

Behind her was a young man in his teenage years. Clad in a suit of pure white armor, he could be summarized in a single word — intense.

A pair of coarse, bushy brows sprouted above his impassive eyes.

His face had a firm, unyielding expression, as though forged from steel, and his skin was tanned dark by the sun. His blond hair was neatly trimmed for ease of movement and to avoid it getting tangled during combat.

This young man's name was Climb, and Gazef had no idea how to get along with him, it was not that he disliked the lad; on the contrary, he actually liked him.

However, Gazef could not bear the air of intensity which surrounded him. He appreciated serious people like him, but he hoped that the boy could at least lighten up a little.

Still, Gazef understood his feelings.

As someone who stood beside the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom, he was the target of much hatred and jealousy, without so much as a friend to call his own. In addition, he came from the same humble origins as Gazef — no, worse than Gazef. Thus, he could not show any weakness, could not allow anyone to criticize a single move he made.

"Father, Warrior-Captain-sama."

The King smiled to Renner as she jogged over, and nodded to Climb as he bowed deeply.

"Is the meeting's finally over?"

"Yes. There was much to discuss, after all."

"Is that so? I was thinking about something, so I decided to wait here so I could tell you about it."

"Really, really now? I apologize, then."

The things she pondered were hardly trivial matters.

The other reason why she was known as the Golden Princess was due to her adroit mind and admirable spirit. Not only were her policies revolutionary, but she had even proposed new laws, all of which were sound and sensible.

The policies she proposed seemed to be entirely centered around measures that aided the lower classes. However, these were not simple handouts, but a comprehensive system of relief policies designed to give those people who wanted to work a chance to feed themselves by their own power.

In addition, these policies would also improve the place of the common folk, heighten their loyalty to the Crown, improve productivity, and positively affect the Crown in general.

Although most of these initiatives had been dismantled by nobles — who opposed any improvement in the lot of the peasants — the wiser members of society and those people who had benefited from those policies strongly approved of her.

"Then, I'll listen to you when I return to my chambers."

"But Father, now is the time for me to go walking about. Please permit me to go on a stroll with Climb before returning."

Climb stiffened even further when he heard the Princess imply that her walks with him were more important than speaking to the King. Gazef felt a little sorry for him.

Still, Princess Renner has always been a free spirit. All he can do as her follower is go along for the ride.

"If that is the case, then go. When you return, come to my chambers and tell me about it."

"I understand. Then, let's go, Climb."

"Then, your humble servant shall take his leave."

Gazef made a suggestion to the bowing Climb, in his capacity as a warrior:

"Climb, you need to hone your swordsmanship, so you can defend Princess Renner under any circumstances."

"Yes, sir!"

Climb nodded vigorously, but Renner then replied in a disapproving tone.

"Climb's fine. He'll be able to protect me, no matter what happens."

There was no basis for her words. Still, after hearing the Princess speak, even he felt that Climb could do it.

"Then, let's go, Climb."

Renner's dainty fingers tugged on the corner of Climb's clothing. It was probably an unconscious gesture, but when Climb discovered the Princess was doing so, his face hardened up even further, until it seemed as unyielding as diamond.

"Yes, my Princess."

Though Climb's expression was seemingly neutral as Renner dragged him away, his eyes revealed his inner torment and how moved he was as he left with the Princess.

The two of them had forgotten their place as master and servant, but the King paid it no heed. He simply watched the two of them leave, as though they were beloved treasures which he had lost long ago.

"...I probably shouldn't be pitying him, given that I'm the King, don't you think?"

Climb's origins were unknown. He was a pauper's child that Renner had picked up during an excursion from the keep.

Then, he had been a skinny boy on the verge of starving to death. He had worked hard and trained ceaselessly to protect his savior. No, training and working hard were not enough to describe what he had done.

He lacked any talent for swordsmanship or magic, nor did he possess outstanding physical abilities.

However, he had been honing himself little by little, day by day. Of course, his skills were not on the level of Gazef, nor were they in the realm of heroes. Even so, the strength he gained from training himself put him at the pinnacle of all the warriors in the Kingdom. That said, there were some obstacles which he could not overcome.

Said obstacles were his status, his power, and his personal value.

A place close to Princess Renner was very valuable, and Climb was unworthy of it.

"Your servant understands."

"I know it's foolish, but at the very least, I'd like to let one of my daughters… be free. No, if I do that, my other daughters will scold me. How old and foolish I must be, to think of such things."

The King looked to the sky, as though he had seen someone there.

"For all I know, I might have to subject this daughter of mine to unhappiness as well."

If he had to marry off the princess now, she would probably be matched to someone from the Great Nobles.

That was what Gazef thought, but he did not say anything, because he did not know what to say. Only someone of similar status to the King could understand his troubles, and Gazef was not such a person.

Silence passed between the two of them, and then they stepped forward again, to clear it away.

—-

The first thing that three supreme rulers of the great underground tomb of Nazarick saw after teleporting was a wide and flat luscious plain. It spans for a total of 400 meter across in ever direction.

To onlookers, it would be just that a very large flat plain with luscious green grass.

However, this was not the case.

This landscape had been created by Mare and several other magic casters of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The entire Great Tomb of Nazarick was cancelled by high level illusions and invisibility spell.

The three supreme beings walk to the seemingly empty center of the plain. Karna extended his hand, it was met with a solid structure like that of a stone wall.

Once he did so, the scenery changed, and three felt as though they had pierced some sort of thin membrane. The flat plain vanished, and the familiar scenery of their home filled their eyes.

This was the sign that they had breached the protective layer of illusions.

Without slowing down their walking pace, the three continued toward their destination in silence, the largest mausoleum at the center was because it was the sole entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

As they neared the bone-white steps of the mausoleum, they discovered countless forms beneath them. The three walk until they were directly in front of them.

"Welcome back, supreme ones," said a gentle female voice. It was soon followed by a chorus of other greetings and welcomes.

The woman in the pure white dress who stood before the three was none other than Albedo, the Guardian Overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. She was the one with the clearest picture of the current situation.

The people behind her were members of the Uchiha Brothers and the Trinity Sisters, they were neatly line up shoulder to shoulder with seriousness plastered on their faces. Behind them were the battle maids of the Pleiades.

After speaking to Albedo via a 「Message」 spell, Ainz had given Narberal her orders and then he and his friends immediately teleported back. The fact that Albedo could gather so many people to welcome the three in five minutes spoke volumes of Albedo's skill as an administrator.

Filled with respect for that fact, Ainz raised his hand and waved in response to the NPC greetings. Perhaps he should have said a couple of words in thanks, but that was not suitable given the circumstances.

"Albedo, about what you said through the 「Message」..."

"Had Shalltear really betrayed us?" Karna said with all seriousness.

Ainz slightly turned and looked at his friend. He wanted to ask that question but he feared that if he asked about her betrayal, he would find that it was true. Times like this is when Ainz felt kinda jealous towards his friend for his bold nature and his ability to lead.

"Yes, shall we discuss it elsewhere my lord?"

Jeanne look around and spoke "That's right… we should speak of it in the Throne Room"

"Indeed. Then — Yuri, present the supreme ones with their rings."

A bespectacled maid stepped forward from the maids lined up behind her.

Yuri wore the same basic combat-ready maid uniform that Narberal did, but there were some differences in her outfit.

Narberal's maid uniform was designed to protect its wearer, but Yuri's outfit prioritized ease of movement. The proof of that could be seen in the lack of metal parts on the front of her skirt.

Her metal gauntlets were covered in spikes, and all she had to do was clenched her fists to turn them into deadly weapons.

Her wide blue choker was decorated with a small, translucent gemstone. It radiated a light from within, which shimmered and flickered as though cast by a flame.

Her hair was done up in a bun behind her, and her prime features were cool and elegant, giving her an air of wisdom.

She was Yuri Alpha, assistant leader of the Pleiades Battle Maids. As the male butler Sebas was their leader, it would not be wrong to consider her the manager of the Pleiades.

She held a tray in both hands, which was draped with a purple satin cloth. The cloth itself bore three rings — the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz and his friends picked up the ring, and placed it upon their ring finger.

This ring permitted its wearer to freely teleport throughout the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The agreed to remove it during any excursion to the outside world, because they feared that it might be stolen.

As he looked at the ring upon his skeletal finger, Ainz nodded, as though in approval. The discomfort of not wearing it for several days vanished, replaced by a supreme satisfaction.

"Then, let us go."

They could not directly teleport into the Throne Room, so they used the Ring's power to send them to the room (the Lemegeton) which directly adjoined the Throne Room.

After opening the massive doors, the three supreme beings entered in the company of Albedo, the Uchiha Brothers and the Trinity Sisters heading for the crystal throne. As they walked, Jeanne asked the question she had been pondering.

"Before we start, I have some questions for you. You told Ainz that Shalltear betrayed us right?, them when she betrayed us, how did Sebas — who was in the same place at her — react? Did he not betray us along with her?"

"Fortunately my lady there were no signs of his betrayal."

"Then, did you question Sebas about the matter?"

"I did, and he finished his report to me. According to Sebas, they encountered a group of bandits. After that, Shalltear headed toward the bandits' hideout in order to capture them. Nothing suspicious occurred during that time, and she vocally proclaimed her intent to render loyal service to you, my lady."

"I see. In other words, something happened after that which made her decide to betray us." Karna concluded.

"Yes… in addition, she brought two Vampire Brides with her. However, they seem to have been destroyed."

"...Is that so? that means something happened which destroyed them. Then, I'll summarize what happened on my end."

Ainz had almost finished his report by the time they reached the stairs to the throne. However, he had not gotten to the events of the tomb yet, so he continued speaking.

After it was all finished, everyone in the throne room — who had been listening attentively and silently — nodded in acknowledgement.

Ainz wanted to ask if he had handled the situation well, but there was something more important that he wished to know.

He looked to the throne and recited the designated password.

"Master Source — Open."

A translucent window appeared before his eyes. It looked like the console, but was completely different from window had multiple pages within it, each covered in densely-packed characters.

This was the administration system for the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

It recorded the daily maintenance costs, the numbers and types of vassals present, all sorts of magical traps, gimmicks and other such things. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. While they had still been in YGGDRASIL, one could access this system from anywhere, but after some experimentation, Ainz found that in this world, the system could only be operated from the heart of the dungeon, the Throne Room.

Although it's troublesome to have to come here every time… at least I have the ring to teleport me… so it's not such a big deal.

With practiced movements, Ainz brought up and enlarged the NPC status page.

This page recorded the names of all the NPCs made by the guild members. After changing the sorting method from alphabetical order to level order, from highest to lowest, Ainz's eyes travelled down the list — and then all eyes halted on a single spot. Then, the three silently turned their gaze to Albedo's face.

"Yes, it has become like this."

Amidst a sea of names written in white, only Shalltear Bloodfallen's name was shown in red.

They knew what this change meant, but—

They looked over it twice, three times, and after realizing that their eyes had not been mistaken, Ainz screamed Impossible! within his heart. If his skeletal face could display an expression, it would be one of shock. Jeanne was better than Ainz as she tries to think of ways to deal with this situation. Karna remain calm but he gave out a silent apology to his friend Peroroncino as he ran all the possibility and strategy he could take over and over again.

After a small silent fell upon them Jeanne spoke "...Is she dead?"

Jeanne continued questioning Albedo. In her heart of hearts, she hoped that something had happened to the system when they had been brought to this world. However, the truth Albedo spoke was unbearably cruel.

"If she were dead, her name would have vanished and left a blank space. In all likelihood, this represents betrayal."

"Well... that's right."

As Ainz replied thusly to Albedo, he recalled the meaning of this change when he had last seen it in YGGDRASIL.

Albedo called it betrayal, but that was slightly different from what the system was displaying. Indeed, broadly speaking it was similar to betrayal, but this color change occurred when a third party used mind control to temporarily make an NPC take hostile actions.

Impossible.

Ainz voiced that denial in his heart once more. Shalltear and Ainz were both undead, which meant that they were of races that were immune to all sorts of mind-affecting effects. How had Shalltear been mind controlled, then?

It was easier to accept the fact that Shalltear had simply betrayed Nazarick. For example, she might have been unhappy with her treatment and someone on the outside might have offered her better terms, thus leading to her treachery.

If that was not the case, it meant that something had happened when they had come to this world which was outside the scope of Ainz's knowledge.

Ainz recalled Nfirea's face. Indeed, perhaps a talent-holder like himself with some unknown power could have affected an undead mind.

"...Could this be the effect of some being, phenomenon, or special effect that is unique to this world?" Karna suggested.

"That is unclear. However, Shalltear's betrayal is clear enough, so I propose that we assemble a strike force immediately."

At this moment Ainz suddenly realized something. Could it be that the vassals who had welcomed them back were intended to eliminate Shalltear? As he brought them back to mind, he noticed that there were many vassals among them who were a rare sight in Nazarick, the ones who possessed holy-elemental attacks which were effective against the undead.

Albedo continued in a voice that seemed to be made of steel.

"I wish to nominate myself as the commander of this expedition and, if you permit it, I would like to have Cocytus as my executive officer and include Mare in our forces."

"With all do respect Guardians Overseer Albedo, I believe we should handle this matter, we were created for this exact purpose, you guardians are here to protect Nazarick floors while we are created to hunt down and destroy the supreme ones enemy's " Astil said.

"I must disagree with your action Astil, I believe me and my brothers should handle this matter, you and sister are needed here, as the final defense of the eighth floor and guardians of the Babel Tower, you are indispensable" Obito said.

Each one of these choices were perfect for destroying Shalltear. It was clear that all of them were very serious about this.

Shalltear Bloodfallen was very strong. In fact, she was the strongest of the Guardians, barring Gargantua. Therefore, one would need the team members selected by one of these three (Albedo, Astil, Obito) to be absolutely certain of defeating her, or else one would have a very hard time.

"Do you approve my lord?" Obito, Astil and Albedo asked.

"No, it's too soon to come to that conclusion. Let us verify the reasons behind Shalltear's betrayal first." Jeanne quickly said as she fear this will escalate to an argument between the three.

"You are indeed compassionate, lady Jeanne. However, as long as anyone faces the Supreme Beings with hostility, there is no need to show them any mercy." Obito said.

"That's not correct, Obito. It is not that I am showing mercy to Shalltear, but I simply do not understand why she would betray us, if this is a matter that was outside of her control than..." Jeanne said.

If this sort of thing could happen to anyone other than Shalltear, she had to figure out a way to deal with it.

If she was unhappy with how she had been treated, then the same thing might happen to the other vassals. Thus, the three of them (Ainz, Karna, Jeanne) would have to take the appropriate measures to nip it in the bud.

If this were the result of some sort of domination ability from a talent, they would also need to figure out some way to counteract it.

When they heard from the 「Message」 that an NPC created by their friends had betrayed them, they felt as though they had been condemned by everyone (the other guild members). However, this was no longer a simple matter of being rebuked by others.

They had to solve this problem not as the last of the guild members, but in their capacity as the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was far too early to despair, and if — though it was impossible — Shalltear had actually been mind-controlled, then they needed to save her.

A superior who put on a high and mighty face but did not save his subordinates while they were in trouble was not fit to be a leader.

"Then, do you know where Shalltear is? Have you pinpointed her location?" Ainz asked.

"My sincerest apologies, but we have not confirmed that yet. I considered that Shalltear might attack Nazarick, so I had her direct subordinates placed under arrest, and dispatched other vassals to reinforce the First Floor, Obito send out a few Shinobi, however they returned with no result" Albedo said.

"Then the only thing we can do is to go visit your elder sister to see if we can discern Shalltear's current location."


	10. Chapter 6 - part 2: Realization

**Overlord Chapter 6 part 2:**

The Fifth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an extremely cold region that had been modelled after a glacier.

A bluish-white iceberg stood in the middle of an endless expanse of white land, like a tombstone. It seemed to glow from within and confused the senses. Snow fell from the heavy, overcast sky above, whipped into a mad dance by the freezing wind which carried frozen vapors on its gusts. In the distance was a frozen forest covered in snow, which looked like giants clad in robes of purest white.

The bone-chilling wind ruffled the three supreme beings clothing, which fluttered in the wind. Albedo stood beside them, and as Ainz eyed the way she was dressed, Ainz asked:

"Aren't you cold? If you need to, you can put on your armor. We should still have time for that."

Ainz was completely immune to all forms of cold-elemental attacks, and so was his friends, Karna was slightly bothered by it though as he is a fire demon. But none of them would not be damaged or frozen regardless of how low the temperature went. However, Albedo was a different matter. If she was in her full battle panoply, mere freezing gusts like this would not harm her, but she was currently wearing a white dress. He had asked her about this before teleporting, but he had come away with the feeling that she was just trying to put on a brave front.

However, Albedo simply smiled gently in response to Ainz's worries.

"Thank you for your concern, lord Ainz, but it is not necessary. Mere cold like this is not a problem."

Ainz nodded and replied, "I see."

Normally, there would be an environmental effect here which applied cold damage and slowed movement. However, operating it required money, so it had been left deactivated. Perhaps she had simply been lucky that they had made that decision early on. Or was it because Albedo had some sort of magic item or skill that negated cold damage?

In truth, the NPCs were equipped by the guild members who designed them. There were only a few of them which Ainz could confidently say he understood thoroughly, apart from Pandora's Actor. That said, he had gone over all their data after coming to this new world.

Questions filled Ainz's mind as he looked at the majestic two-story mansion before him.

This building seemed strangely out of place in this frozen land. It was like a house from a storybook, and seemed to be surrounded by a fairytale atmosphere.

However, its surface was covered in a layer of ice, giving it an uncomfortably cold aura. In fact, the name of this building was about as far from a fairytale as one could get.

Its name was the Frozen Prison.

All of Nazarick's enemies were locked up here.

'So your only worried about albedo huh?'

'what?...oh right, your a fire demon... hehe sorry' Ainz reply through the **[MESSAGE]** sheepishly.

"...Let's just go." Karna grumbled.

Jeanne look at Karna, he was slightly shivering from the cold, with a red tint on cheek and happy smiled plaster on her beautiful face she latched onto one of Karna arm and snuggled up to him to make him a little warmer. Though he has equipment that protects him from cold damage, he wasn't completely immune to the cold. Karna was caught off guard a little, his and Jeanne eyes met and Karna smiled at her as she look at him with a smile of her own.

Albedo looked at the two and look at Ainz with puppy dog eyes 'I wish me and lord Ainz could walk hand in hand like Lord Karna and Lady Jeanne, seeing them like that really make me jealous...'

'crap, why is she looking at me like that?' Ainz though, he then look forward to see Karna and Jeanne who were clinging to each other and looking at one other and was seem to be loss in each other gaze, Ainz then glance at Albedo 'does she want me to do that... oh no'

Ainz continue to look forward, hoping that Albedo would give up and look forward herself 'I feel so bad for doing this to her... but it cant be help'.

Karna smiled and slightly leaned in more to feel Jeanne warmth 'once this is over, me and Jeanne really need to sit down and talk... now that I think about it, we really haven't had any time for each other when we arrive here' and with that though, he pushed open the frozen main gate. Though it was covered in a thick layer of ice, the gate still open easily, as though it were welcoming a visitor.

A wave of cold air washed over them in the instant the gate opened. This was because the interior of the Prison was colder than even the freezing environs outside.

It was only after the chilling wind swept over her that Albedo began shivering. As Ainz saw this, he reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew a crimson cape, whose hem was decorated with flame-like patterns.

"Wear this, Albedo. It is not highly enchanted, but it should be enough to ward off the cold."

"To think you would lavish such a gift upon me! My deepest thanks! I shall treasure it all my life."

'Some friend you are'

'oh don't complain, you have Jeanne to keep you warm'

The looked further into the other side of the opened gate.

A silent, dark passage extended within.

"Right, the surviving members of the Sunlight Scripture should be in here." Ainz said.

"Neuronist should be watching them closely. Ah, how warm, it feels like you're hugging me, Ainz-sama… kukuku."

"...Really now? That's wonderful."

I doubt being embraced by skinless and fleshless arms like mine would feel warm, but of course Ainz did not say that. At the very least, he knew that it would not be appropriate at the present moment.

As Albedo wriggled and twisted around in the cape, wrapping it around herself so tightly she almost vanished into its folds, Ainz strode forth.

"What are you doing, we're running out of time… under these circumstances." Karna said as he and Jeanne who was clinging to his arm, walked in front of the group.

"Right"

Ainz's passive skill 「Undead Blessing」 allowed him to sense all the undead lurking within the compound. Since it was annoying, Ainz disabled the skill in order to ignore the presence of the undead as he walked down the freezing, blue-white passage. People without countermeasures against movement impairment might end up tripping and falling on the completely frozen-over corridor.

"...my lord, shall I summon Neuronist? It is unthinkable that she would not come to lead the way, thus forcing the Supreme Beings of Nazarick to advance by themselves…"

'...Neuronist... oh no' memories of the past flooded back to Jeanne. She could still remember the little prank the guild polled on her, one of the member made Neuronist as a cruel joke to prank some the guild member. She being the biggest scaredy-cat in guild was often victim to theses pranks.

"Um...It's fine Albedo, Neuronist, well she's...um, she has a very...um... energetic personality. There is a matter we need to settle as soon as possible and I would like to avoid wasting time." Jeanne said while trying to put in the nicest way possible.

"Understood My lady. Then, after all this is over, I will lecture Neuronist and caution her not to babble too much."

"NO, no, there's no need for that. It does not displease me." Jeanne reassure.

"But…"

Jeanne bitterly smiled as she watched Albedo furrows her brows from her place beside Ainz. As one of her masters, she appreciated the fact that she was thinking of them, but if she did that, their subordinates might not dare complain in future.

"Albedo it is fine, regardless of your merits or flaws, we love you all, because you were all made by our friends of the past. The fault is our for being unhappy with such meticulously crafted people." Ainz said.

Indeed, if Shalltear had betrayed them because her backstory had been designed that way, then he had to forgive her for it. That was because she was simply obeying the will of her creator, Peroroncino. However, he did not seem like the type who would plant bad seeds in the guild. All this confused them because Peroroncino was a man who liked joking around and disliked ruining relationships between his friends.

If that's the case, then it should be an external reason after all, no? The way the text was displayed represents that she was mind controlled… although I can't rule out the fact that it might have been a part of her settings I wasn't sure about, or a change in her settings which happened after coming to this world. Besides, I didn't memorize the personality profiles of all the NPCs, and their personalities seem quite similar to those of their creators… I guess nobody could program them without personalities, so that might be why. If that's the case, then Shalltear… could it be that she had something like a time bomb built into her settings? Her creator liked H-Games, so maybe he programmed some kind of event into her which needed to be solved with a walkthrough… uwah, that sounds quite likely.

Ainz sighed weakly, and then he finally realised the oddity in the behavior of the woman next to him.

She was looking forward and walking, but unlike just now, she was not matching his stride. And while her eyes were facing forward, they were not focused on any particular place.

Karna heard Albedo mumbling something, and he strained to listen.

"I love you… I love you… I love you…"

She was repeating those words over and over again, like a broken record.

'...uhh, this is going to escalate to something big one day…' Karna sigh.

"...Oi, Albedo. I said I loved you all. That refers to everyone" Ainz said.

Albedo turned her head towards him in a strange manner.

"But, but that, that means, you love me too, right?"

"Er… erm… well, yes."

"Kufu!"

Albedo squeezed her legs together and hopped up in an adorable manner — the motion sending her into the ceiling.

Such was the case when one possessed superhuman athletic ability.

Jeanne giggles 'she so kawaii!'

Ping! Or rather, it was a boom. A startling crash came from the ceiling, so great was the force of the impact. As they heard what sounded like a bomb exploding, the translucent bodies of several incorporeal monsters poked themselves out of the ceiling.

These were the undead which were hiding within the Prison, which Ainz's skill had picked up.

"Ah, you lot can go back, it's nothing special."

Ainz looked at Albedo before him, so happy that she was humming to herself. Though she had crashed into the ceiling, her racial skills included a certain measure of damage reduction, so it had not hurt at all.

The various undead bowed reverently before vanishing, returning to where they stood ready to meet any intruders.

"That enough Albedo, we're almost at your big sister's room." Karna said.

Albedo's flighty and overjoyed expression turned serious in an instant.

"Understood. Then, I shall retrieve the doll."

"Umu. Give it to me."

Albedo reached a hand toward the wall, and a pale-white hand reached back out, depositing a doll to her hand. It was a baby doll, which was about the same size as an actual baby.

Karna accepted the doll, and looked it over without averting his eyes.

"How revolting."

The doll was a caricature of a human infant, its distorted features resembling a Cupid doll. Its large, round eyes were particularly disgusting. Karna furrowed his brows and directed his gaze to the end of the corridor. There was a large fresco, painted on a wall which contained a door.

He saw a mother and her baby. It was a painting of a mother gently cradling her child.

If that were all, it would have been a beautiful painting. However, the passage of time had worn away at the paint, turning it into a hideous sight. In particular, one could no longer see the shape of the baby itself. All that remained was something which looked like a corpse.

Karna pushed open the door, which slid open with no sound or resistance — and he was greeted by the sound of crying babies.

It was not just the sound of one or two voices. Nor was it the result of an echo.

Tens, hundreds of crying voices fused into one and reached their ears. However, they could not see any babies in the room.

Still, although they could not see them, they were definitely there.

In this empty room, bare of all furniture, there was a cradle, and a woman gently rocked it.

Though Karna had entered the room, the woman in the black mourning clothes remained silent, caring only for the cradle she was rocking. Her face could not be seen because her long black hair completely covered it up.

Normally, if an NPC saw a Supreme Beings and paid them no heed, Albedo would loudly rebuke them. However, she remained silent. They all knew the reason for that, because Albedo's guarded stance told them everything.

"It's about time to begin, no?"

"It should be. Please be careful."

As though on cue, the women's movements froze. Then, she reached her hands into the cradle, and gently retrieved the baby within. No, that was not a real baby, but a baby doll.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong."

She shook it forcefully and then cast it aside with all her strength. The doll shattered into pieces when it hit the wall.

"My baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyy—!"

A sound of grinding teeth came from the woman, and with that, the crying noises from the floor and ceiling grew louder. Soon, the source of the sound revealed itself, and lumps of flesh which resembled translucent babies emerged.

"To think Tabula Smaragdina-san put so many monsters in here… how much money did he spend on this?" Jeanne asked.

"A lot probably" Karna sigh as the memory of the good old days of Ainz Ooal Gown came back, however this was interrupted by the squirming masses of flesh which resembled infants come, they were close to level twenty, and they were called Carrion Babies.

In games like YGGDRASIL, one could place pop monsters within dungeons by paying the appropriate in-game or real-world currency. However, they would not come back to life after being destroyed, so they were more of a luxury to players. Those players that did not focus on roleplaying would not emplace such monsters.

The fact that he had put in so many Carrion Babies here, despite their low levels, was a testament to the meticulous nature of Tabula Smaragdina.

Just as they was starting to be impressed, the woman produced a large pair of scissors from somewhere and gripped them tightly. A keen gaze looked out from her unkempt hair, directed at Ainz, Karna, Jeanne and Albedo.

"You, you, you, you, took, took, took, took, my baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyyyy—!"

"...She really is your sister. The resemblance is very strong." Ainz joke.

"Eh!? Re-Really?"

"Hem, you what… I can see the resemblance" Karna nodded as she look at Albedo and turned to look at her sister.

The woman seemed to take the leisurely conversation as some sort of provocation and broke into a run, her killing intent driving her as swiftly as the wind. The woman in the black mourning clothes took unnaturally large strides as she charged, closing the distance to them in but a few steps.

The woman stabbed forcefully at Karna with her scissors—

"Your child is here."

—And as Karna presented the doll to the woman, her movements froze immediately, as though someone had pressed the stop button on her. She put her scissors away, and slowly accepted the doll.

"Ohhhhh~"

She cradled her beloved child with infinite compassion, as though she would never let it go. Then, she gingerly placed the baby back in the cradle, before turning her face, shrouded as it was by her long hair.

"Lord Momonga, Lord Karna, Lady Jeanne and my lovely little sister too. I trust you have been well?"

"It's been a while, Nigredo. You seem… yes, I am glad you have not changed."

The reason why they could calmly handle this chain of events was because they had witnessed this madness before, in the game.

'Back then, this was so scary that I screamed' Jeanne mused.

Their guildmate said he had made a new NPC, and asked the other guild members to come see it with him. In the end, everyone had shrieked together and unleashed their full power on Nigredo. It felt quite nostalgic now when they looked back on it.

"Nee-san, it's been a while."

Indeed, this Nigredo was Albedo's older sister. In other words, she was an NPC created by the player Tabula Smaragdina.

If one said that Albedo was the incarnation of his love for gap moe, then Nigredo would be the character that represented Tabula Smaragdina's love for horror movies.

Although he wasn't a bad person by any stretch of the word, he was clearly quite a character.

Under normal circumstances, he was a rational man, but the more he got into something, the more he began revealing his true nature. As he recalled that guild member from the past, Nigredo brushed away the long hair which covered her face, revealing her true visage.

Perhaps she felt that covering her face was being disrespectful to the supreme beings, but on the other hand, they would have preferred her to carry on as normal.

Her true face was creepy, to say the least. It had no skin, only exposed muscle.

Her mouth had no lips, yet held a beautiful set of teeth. Her eyes shone brightly in the absence of eyelids. An observer might think her beautiful if they looked solely at her eyes or teeth, but taken as a whole, her face inspired nothing but revulsion.

That frighteningly ugly face from the depths of a horror movie contorted. It was hard to tell because of the lack of skin, but she still had muscle tissue on her face, unlike Ainz, so one could eventually surmise that she should have been smiling.

"Then, Lord Momonga, Lor—"

"—Ah, my apologies. You were not in the Throne Room so you did not know, but my name is no longer Momonga. I am now Ainz Ooal Gown. Please address me as Ainz from now on."

There was a gasp of surprise, and then Nigredo slowly raised her head:

"I understand, lord Ainz."

"Then, Nigredo, we came here to seek your help. Could we make use of your abilities?" Karna asked.

"My abilities? Is it alive? Or nonliving?"

"...Probably counts as alive… should probably be living… I'll be frank with you. The target is Shalltear Bloodfallen."

"The Floor Guardian? ...Forgive my rudeness. If it your order, then I will carry it out at once, Lord Karna."

Though her voice seemed doubtful, Nigredo immediately complied with the request.

"Please, Nee-san."

In response to Albedo's request, Nigredo raised her thumb playfully before casting a variety of spells. There was quite the variety of them, and Ainz mused that he had heard most of them not long before. They were the spells he had demonstrated to Narberal last night.

Nigredo was a magic caster, and she was one of the highest-level NPCs in Nazarick. Though one could not tell from looking at her, she had been designed to specialize in divination and information gathering. That was why they had come here to ask for help with locating Shalltear.

Soon enough — as befitting a person with her skills — Nigredo swiftly announced the results.

"I found her my lords."

"Put it on a 「Crystal Monitor」." Karna commanded.

She cast another spell, and a 「Crystal Monitor」 appeared, displaying something which looked like a vast expanse of forest. Someone in armor was standing amidst the trees.

They praised her:

"Amazing. You discerned the location of the target with pinpoint accuracy. I'd expect nothing less of a specialized magic cas—"

As the image in the monitor became clearer, the praise vanished.

The person depicted there was dressed in a suit of red-colored full plate armor which looked like it had been drenched in blood. It wore a swan-shaped helmet which left only the face exposed. Plumes of avian feathers sprouted from either side of the helmet, while the chest and shoulders of the armor had been styled into the shape of wings. Crimson skirt armor covered the lower body.

It held a huge, strange-looking lance in one hand, resembling a pipette one might use in a science class.

This was Shalltear Bloodfallen. She possessed levels in Valkyrie — a divine magic caster class which specialized in fighting power — and she was fully ready for battle.

"The Spuit Lance! That's the divine class item that Peroroncino-sama gave Shalltear!" Albedo exclaimed as she saw Shalltear's weapon.

YGGDRASIL's magic items were made by embedding data crystals into items, but not all data crystals dropped by monsters were equal. If one wanted to make a divine class item, one would need several data crystals which were classified as "high-rare drops." In addition, one would need to make the container for those data crystals — a sword, for instance — out of extremely rare metals and the like.

As a result, it was fairly common for even level one hundred players to not own a single divine class item.

Even the members of Ainz Ooal Gown — a guild which had ranked among the top ten in the game — could not outfit their NPCs in nothing but divine class items. At the most, they could only give them one or two such articles.

The Spuit Lance which Shalltear Bloodfallen possessed was such an item.

Its name sounded silly, but its power was extremely insidious. When embedded in a weapon, some data crystals allowed their users to absorb a certain percentage of damage dealt and use it to replenish their health. The Spuit Lance was specialized in doing so.

"...we need to head out now." Karna said as he furrowed his browed.

"Eh? Ah, please wait lord Karna! Since Shalltear is already fully equipped, it's possible that hostilities will begin on sight, so we need to select several guards to defend your person my lord."

"We don't have time for that; if negotiations break down, we'll retreat immediately—" Karna turned and began to walk out.

"『Forgive the disturbance, my lord』"

A female voice echoed through each of their mind. It belonged to Narberal, who had stayed in E-Rantel.

Anger blazed in Karna at this untimely interruption.

"What is it, Narberal? I'm—"

I'm busy, he wanted to say, but Karna was cut off halfway by Jeanne, who had placed her hand on his shoulder.

This faint sense of regret allowed Karna to regain his calm.

The NPCs treated each of them as their Supreme rulers. Even if he made the wrong decision, they would still treat their words as their top priority. Because of that, Karna had to keep calm, act carefully, and avoid making mistakes. Usually this wouldn't be a problem as he was a quiet and reserved person, but thanks to his races and emotion, this is getting harder to do.

Karna took a silent deep breath and responded in a calm manner "...No, it's fine. What is it? It must be important for you to contact me with 「Message」, right?"

"『Yes. Someone from the Adventurer's Guild is looking for you, Lord Karna.』"

"...If it's about last night, tell them to wait… no, that's not right. There should be something else, am I correct?"

"『Yes! You are as perceptive as always, my lord』"

Narberal was not being clear, so Karna let his silence show his confusion. Soon, she seemed to have picked up on that and spoke again:

"『Actually, there is another problem besides that. It… concerns a certain Vampire.』"

"What? A Vampire, you say?" Jeanne said.

They turned to look at Shalltear, whose image stood ramrod straight on the monitor.

"Did they mention anything about that Vampire? Like say, silver hair, or crimson armor, or something?" Ainz questioned.

"『Regretfully, they did not. The person they sent for yourself was little more than a runner. They said that they would explain at the guild, and hoped that you would hurry over as soon as possible, my lord. I hear that several adventurer teams have already made their way there… the Guild's messenger is nearby; what should I tell him?』"

Karna closed his eyes and began to think, "What do you think of this situation, Albedo?"

After finishing his explanation, Albedo lowered her eyes for a few moments, and then looked back at Karna.

"Given that we lack information, there will be merits and demerits to either alternative. Thus, you should select according to your personal preference, my lord. If it were up to me, I would ignore these humans."

After thanking Albedo, Karna fell into deep thought once again.

He considered the worst that could happen if he prioritized Shalltear.

He then considered how Shalltear's situation would change if he put the Guild first.

As he thought about the drawbacks of both, he began to feel that either option would lead to disaster.

Karna turned toward his friends "so what do you guys think?"

A short silence fell between them.

"Maybe we can split up, I'll go and deal will Shalltear while you two go with the guild" Jeanne said.

Karna was hesitant as he look at Jeanne with worried. But he wayed both situation and made a tough decision.

"...That could work, but… be careful ok" Karna said with worry and doubts.

"I'll be fine, beside if she does Attack, I am confident that I can win, beside look at her—" Jeanne turn and look at shalltear through Albedo sister Nigredo Crystal Monitor and everyone followed her gaze.

"—she looks like…"

"A typical MMORPG boss" Ainz said grimly.

"Yeah, if that is the case then she wouldn't attack unless provoked"

"That doesn't make sense, unless…" Karna trail off as a horrifying thought form in his head '...no, no way, that impossible right?'

"Unless what?" Jeanne asked.

``if that's the case then..' Karna looked at Ainz and Jeanne who was intently looking at him.

"No it nothing…"

Jeanne look suspicious but ultimately let it slide.

"Alright, Albedo, we will head for the guild, you are to watch over Shalltear and protect Jeanne as she make contact and make sure nothing happens, the last thing we want is for a full on battle to happen, this could result in disaster"

"Understood lords karna."

"You heard that too, didn't you, Narberal?"

"『Understood Lord Karna. Then, I shall inform the messenger that you will be on your way.』"

Karna look at Jeanne again "we'll head out now, be careful"

"I'll be fine don't worry, Albedo gather who you think is fitting for this mission and let go, I want to see Shalltear" Jeanne said.

"I understand. In accordance with your instructions my lady, I shall send several vassals out alone and I will gather people who are worthy to protect you."

"Please do."

Then the three supreme rulers of the great tomb of Nazarick vanished.

Now that only the two sisters were left in the room, the mood in the room lightened. As though waiting for this opportunity, Nigredo turned to Albedo, a curious look in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Has something happened to Shalltear?"

"Mm, it seems she has rebelled against us."

"...Unbelievable… How could that be… is it really true?"

"I find it hard to believe myself, but that seems to be the case."

"Then she should be eliminated without delay. But... it seems that this is not what the supreme ones wishes to do"

"Indeed. Because of lord Ainz and the other supreme ones boundless mercy… no, they probably thinks that killing her without realising why she turned against us would be a big mistake. I'm sure that is what they have in mind."

"Hm~" Nigredo mused, in a tone that seemed somewhere between acceptance and denial.

"I understand. Before you send the vassals out to keep an eye on Shalltear and protect lady Jeanne, I will continue my magical surveillance from here."

"I'm grateful for that, Nee-san."

"By the way, who will you choose to accompany lady Jeanne?"

"Thats easy, i will ask Obito and his brothers to come"

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"Maybe, but if this result in Shalltear attack lady Jeanne than Obito alone can handle her, but I fear we may get ampush so that why im bringing all of the Uchiha Brothers"

"I see"

Thinking the conversation was over, Albedo was about to unleash the power of her Ring when she sensed that her older sister still had something to say. When Nigredo was in a rational state of mind, she was the sort of person who would speak frankly, so there was only one reason that Albedo's big sister would hesitate like this.

Although she did not want to inquire about it, when she considered that it might not be about the previous matter, she had to ask, however unwillingly.

"What's the matter, Nee-san?"

"...Since I am not permitted to leave this Frozen Prison, I am unsure about the situation outside. Is Spinel still well?"

...As I thought.

Albedo regretted asking as she thought that, but in an even voice, she replied:

"Nee-san, you call her that…"

"I hate that girl. Even if we were all made by lord Tabula Smaragdina… no, Spinel was made in a completely different way from us. She is not the kind of person to whom people could open their hearts."

"That's not the case, Nee-san. She's adorable."

"All I can think is that you have been deceived by her. Spinel will definitely bring a great disaster to Nazarick someday. I'll wager on that."

"...We will never see eye to eye on that point. I believe that girl will not cause any trouble."

"Really now? Well, if you — if the Guardian Overseer feels that way, then there's nothing left for me to say. However, I hope that you will take my concerns into consideration, in your role as the Guardian Overseer."

"I understand. I will take your words to heart, Nee-san."

Resisting the urge to sigh, Albedo teleported elsewhere.

However, the matter which she could have laughed off usually now stuck in her heart like a thorn.

She felt that everyone created by the Supreme Beings was staunchly loyal to them. Yet, Shalltear had still rebelled against them. If that were the case, anyone else might be next.

For all she knew, her little sister might also betray—

She could not erase these thoughts entirely. Yet, to Albedo, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Albedo had a baffled, confused look on her face as she reached her destination.

"Ainz-sama, my beloved, I am your loyal dog, your slave."

She declaimed her feelings to a man who was not there.

"Even if all of Nazarick turns against you, even if the other supreme beings turned against you, I will always stand by your side."

—-

"Come, come, come, pull up a chair and sit down already."

There were six men in the room. Three of them were stout-looking men girt for war, while one of them looked similarly imposing despite his lack of arms or armor. He was the one who had risen to beckon Ainz and Karna over. In addition, there was a skinny, neurotic-looking man in a robe, and finally a fat man seated in the innermost part of the room.

Ainz and Karna took a seat, under the eyes of everyone else, and then the standing man spoke once more.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the head of this city's Adventurer's Guild, Pluton Ainzach."

He was a powerful-looking middle-aged man.

He had an aura of a mighty veteran about him. There was no doubt that he was an excellent warrior.

"This is the Mayor of E-Rantel, Panasolei Gruuze De Rittenmeier-san."

They nodded, and Panasolei waved slightly in response.

He was fat — no, frankly speaking, he was almost entirely made up of fat. His belly was rounded and flabby, and his chins were overflowing with adipose tissue. The excess of fat made him look like a bulldog.

The hair on his head was sparse enough that his scalp reflected the light, and what little hair which was left had already turned white.

"Momon, Siegfried, it a pleasure to meet you."

Perhaps it was because his nose was stuffed up, but he made buhiiii noises when he spoke.

"And this is the leader of the E-Rantel Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer."

The skinny man — who looked as frail as a bamboo pole and seemed at least somewhat anorexic — nodded to Karna and Ainz.

"And these three are much like you two, members of the adventurer teams which are the pride of E-Rantel. From the right to the left are Igvarge-san of Kralgra, Perote-san of Tenrou, and Moknak-san of Rainbow."

Those three men each had metal plates around the necks — made of mithril — and each gave the impression of being commanding and even powerful. Their equipment was nothing more than junk to the two supreme beings, but they were still far above the gear sported by most adventurers in this city.

Each of them had different looks in their eyes, but they all shared the same common thread of curiosity.

One of them — the representative of Kralgra, Igvarge — glared icily at both Ainz and Karna.

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask you, Guildmaster Ainzach. I've never heard of the name Momon or Siegfried before. Since their a mithril plate, they should have done something noteworthy, right?"

There seemed to be a little hostility in his voice. However, Ainzach seemed to pay it no heed and cheerfully replied:

"Their feats include taming the Wise King of the Forest, as well as settling the graveyard incident last night."

"Graveyard incident?"

Unlike the confused Igvarge, Moknak of "Rainbow" exclaimed in surprise.

"You don't mean the incident concerning appearance of vast quantities of undead?"

"you're quite well informed. I instructed that the matter not be made public due to receiving some troubling news. Where did you hear that from?"

"Forgive me, Mayor. I merely overheard this, so it's difficult for me to tell you where exactly the news came from. In addition, I do not know much about the details."

The two of them looked at each other and they smiled as their eyes met. Moknak's smile was forced, while the Mayor's was uneasy.

"Hm~ it rings false to me, but forget it. There should be a lot of people who know about the undead running wild. forgive me, I interrupted by accident."

"It's fine, Mayor. In any case, the Guild concluded that due to their contributions in that incident, Momon and his team are now mithril ranked adventurers."

"Just one incident? Just by handling one matter? No adventurer who's gone through rank placement examinations would be happy with that, am I wrong?"

He was not even pretending to be polite any more. Igvarge displayed his naked aggression on his face, and then someone spoke coldly from the side.

"Hmph. Frankly speaking, I have to say that I'm not happy about their mithril rank either, Guildmaster."

The man who cut in was the head of the Magician's Guild, Rakesheer. There was a derisive expression on his face, though Ainz understood that it was not directed at himself nor at Karna, but at Igvarge. However, Igvarge did not realise this, and smiled at Rakesheer in a friendly way.

"I'm glad you see it my way, Guildmaster-san."

"Ku, kuku."

Rakesheer's lips grew even thinner, as though he had heard something amusing. It was not a friendly gesture, because he had a scornful look in his eyes.

"Is that so? I feel that our views are diametrically opposed."

"What do you mean by—"

"Really, that's enough out of you, Igvarge-kun. There's people in the Guild who feel that these two are worthy of an orichalcum plate."

"What!?"

Igvarge's face seemed to be asking how that was possible.

As he saw it, Rakesheer's mocking smile grew so wide that it twisted his entire face.

"Momon and his team of four and that including himself, broke through a horde of thousands of undead with just his partners — no, he had the Wise King of the Forest as well, for a total of five people — and defeated the people conducting an unholy ritual."

"—Anyone with some stealth training could do that!"

Rakesheer sighed, in a somewhat exaggerated way.

"Indeed, you are correct. Initially, I felt that this was not enough to qualify them for orichalcum rank. However, the discovery of a set of bones bore testament to their might."

At that point, Rakesheer turned to Ainz and Karna, a stern look in his eyes.

"...That is to say, the bones of a Skeletal Dragon. You two slew a frightening undead creature that possessed absolute resistance to magic."

"Well, uh, yes! Skel-Skeletal Dragons are strong! But mithril ranked adventurers can still def—"

"—Can still defeat two of them at the same time?"

"Say what!?"

Igvarge's gasp of surprise was joined by the other two adventurers. Then, there was a subtle shift in their attitude as they looked toward him. They were like observers trying to plumb the depths of a lake.

"We found the remains of two Skeletal Dragons at the scene. Could your teams break through a horde of thousands of undead, slay two Skeletal Dragons, and kill the hitherto unknown masterminds of this conspiracy in such a short time? Other adventurers were present at the graveyard, and they reported the presence of twisted spirits like Wraiths. Could you have traversed such deadly ground?"

Igvarge bit his lip, unable to respond.

"Then, let me ask you another question. I hear that the only two members of their party are women. They are magic caster, which means that they would have been completely useless against Skeletal Dragons and their complete magic immunity. Under these circumstances, with only one other… no, even with the Wise King of the Forest by their side as well, could they have made such a great accomplishment?"

Rakesheer bowed to two warrior who sit in silence and said:

"Please allow me to thank you on behalf of the city. If not for you and your team swift response, many more lives might have been lost. And while I can only speak for myself in this matter, you have but to come to me with any request you have and I will do my best to fulfill it."

"You praise us too highly, Guildmaster. We were simply fulfilling Bareare-san's request, and we solved a problem along the way." Karna said.

"Fufufufu…"

Rakesheer laughed, and there was an undercurrent of respect amidst his laughter.

"It seems you are truly worthy of an orichalcum… no, an adamantite rank. To think people could take such a mighty accomplishment and pass it off which such humility, as though it were nothing of note. I heard that your companion can use the magic of the third and fourth tier as well… is that correct?"

"Your praise honors us… but I do not wish to casually show our hand."

"Is that so? What a shame."

Igvarge's face and ears turned red as he watched the way Ainz, Karna and Rakesheer spoke lightly to each other. Then, he bellowed:

"We could do the same thing if we got everyone together! Besides, it's their fault that they got so few teammates, right? They can't get anyone else because they no good!"

The air in the room grew tense even as it grew frigid, and then the sound of a buhiii~ rang forth.

"Let's leave the matter at that. We didn't gather everyone here to fight now, did we?"

After that last buhiii~, Igvarge sat down, seemingly deflated. However, he still glared hatefully at Ainz and Karna. The two guild leaders watched this sight and shook their heads helplessly.

"I understand that you all value strength, but that is not the topic we are here to address, so why don't we settle the matter quickly?"

"Thank you, Mayor."

"Muu? I have no idea why you would thank me, but you should probably continue speaking. The fact is, I'm not quite sure what is going on."

"Understood. If only I could have reported it right away…"

"Don't worry, I was handling a matter in connection with Stronoff-kun myself."

There was another buhiii~

"Now then, let's get to the point—"

"Before that, shouldn't we show some basic courtesy and remove our helmets?"

Igvarge cut in once more with a mocking words. He was not incorrect in saying so, but he was also being quite annoying. The other adventurers frowned as well.

Karna looked over at Ainz.

"It's fine. This time, he has a point. I have been somewhat rude."

However, the false face Ainz revealed when he removed his helmet was a plain one, which was not particularly attractive.

"Since I come from another country, I wore my helmet to avoid drawing trouble. Please forgive my lack of manners."

"Cheh, so you're a foreigner."

"Shut up, Igvarge. Adventurers protect all humanity from monsters and as such, borders do not exist for them. As a fellow adventurer, I am ashamed at your griping about the unspoken rules which govern our guild."

As the voice castigating Igvarge's second interruption rang forth, he realised that everyone else in the room felt that way, so he reluctantly fell silent.

"...Well, it's because of this sort of thing that people have loaded opinions of foreigners."

Several of the people smiled bitterly at Karna words. Igvarge's own face had turned from pale to almost white, but by the time Ainz put his helmet on again, there was no complaint.

"Then, I hope we won't get sidetracked any further. Let's get right to it." Karna impatiently said.

"Well, it's because someone was late that we haven't heard anything until now."

"That was a mistake on my part. Please forgive me."

Ainz lowered his head in apology. He had experienced this sort of thing before as a salaryman, where his bosses announced that they would only begin once everyone had arrived. Thus, all he could do was suppress the urge to go home, because he truly understood how they felt.

When contrasted with Igvarge's hostility and constant jibes, Ainz's sincere apology made him seem that much more noble. Igvarge scoffed angrily as his scowl deepened, because he was well aware that the general opinion of him had fallen even further.

However, there was someone who was even angrier than Igvarge.

"...Are you quite done yet? One more interruption and you can get your ass out of here."

As expected, it was Ainzach who had spoken up. His eyes were filled with rage, and there was no trace of his previous calm in his voice. Naturally, he was glaring at Igvarge.

Igvarge inclined his head slightly to apologize.

Ainz was confused as he observed Igvarge's reaction. Given the hostility the man had shown him just now, it would not have been strange for him to break into a grade-schooler's tantrum, as though complaining to his parents. Why had he chosen to back down?

After a brief period of thought, he came up with something.

What would people think of Igvarge if he were chased away from a gathering of mithril-ranked adventurers? Even if the truth got out, there would be some people who would believe that he had been ejected from the group because he was useless. If that happened, his standing within the adventuring community would plummet. That was probably why he had shut up.

"To summarize, about two nights ago, some adventurers patrolling the outskirts of E-Rantel encountered a Vampire. Five of them were killed by the Vampire. I have gathered all of you here because of that incident."

As Ainz and Karna listened to the description of the Vampire, their hopes shattered like spun glass.

The sole surviving adventurer had been too afraid to give a proper description, and had only noted details like clothing, hair color, and the like. However, the thing that stood out most clearly was "silver hair and a large mouth."

Despite it being just a muddled description, anyone who knew Shalltear would immediately think of her once they heard it. The two supreme beings of Nazarick was certain of the Vampire's identity in their heart.

'I have no idea how things ended up like this, but things might go badly if I don't alter the memories of the survivors. I'll have to do that some other time' Karna thought.

As Karna furrowed his eyebrows, the discussion continued apace.

"I see. I'm not too clear about this incident myself, but I would be wasting everyone's time if I asked for a full explanation. I'll ask if anything I don't understand comes up."

"Understood. Then, gentlemen, do you have any questions?"

"When you say 'the outskirts,' where exactly do you mean by that?" Ainz asked.

"It's a place about three hour's walk from the north gate. There's a large patch of forest there, and the incident took place within the forest."

"What rank were those adventurers?" Karna asked.

"They were iron plates."

"...I'd like to ask, but why have you brought so many adventurers on board for just one Vampire? Is there going to be a competition of some sort?"

"He's got a point. Platinum ranked adventurers can deal with a Vampire. I have no idea why you've gathered so many mithril ranked adventurers."

"The answer is simple: because that Vampire is very powerful."

Everyone except Ainz and Karna looked to Rakesheer in surprise as he interrupted.

"A very powerful Vampire…"

"Could it be you're trying to say that the opposition is a high-end Vampire… the Vampire Lord 'Landfall' who was mentioned in the Saga of the Thirteen Heroes?"

"We do not know if the enemy is indeed a Vampire Lord, but according to the adventurer who encountered the Vampire, the Vampire used the third tier spell 「Create Undead」. I trust I don't need to tell you adventurers the implications of that?"

They had nothing to say. The stiff looks on their faces spoke for them.

"Hm~ I have no idea what that means, so could you tell me?"

"Forgive me, Mayor-san."

"Anything which could use magic of that tier is of platinum rank at the very least."

Panasolei frowned as he began getting a better picture of the situation.

"In other words… I won't speak like this any more."

Panasolei's eyes sharpened, and that was enough to change the image he projected to everyone else. He had turned from a fat, lazy pig to a savage wild boar. Or rather, this was Panasolei's true face.

"In other words, it's exactly as what you're saying, Guildmaster-san. A monster on par with a platinum ranked adventurer party, with platinum ranked powers on top of that."

"It is as you say."

"So it's basically strengthening something which is already strong?"

"That is a valid way of looking at the matter."

"How would you describe it, in terms of the size of a comparable military force?"

"A military force… that's a somewhat tricky question."

Rakesheer racked his brains, and then spoke again.

"Let me get this out of the way first, this is just my personal opinion and it's by no means a final, unassailable assessment. If you want to think of it in terms of a group of fighting men, given the fact that the undead do not tire, nor do they eat or drink… I guess you could compare it to an army of ten thousand."

"Say what!?"

A look of shock came over Panasolei as he heard this, and he looked to the other adventurers, as though seeking their opinion of those words. Apart from Ainz and Karna, everyone nodded in agreement with the words of the Magician's Guild's leader.

As though picking up the baton from Rakesheer, Ainzach continued speaking:

"To continue where Theo left off, only about twenty percent of the adventurers in the Kingdom can be considered to be at or above platinum rank. There are around three thousand adventurers in the Kingdom, so among the eight million people of the Kingdom, there are only about six hundred platinum ranked or higher adventurers. Do you understand now? Platinum ranked adventurers are rare."

"Is that so? I wish I did not understand, but I do. Then, with this situation in mind, I would like to ask you adventurers: are you confident in eliminating this creature? If not… well, then how about asking the Warrior-Captain Gazef-kun for help?"

Gazef Stronoff. He was the mightiest warrior of the Kingdom, superior even to adamantite ranked adventurers. A man that was arguably the Kingdom's ace in the hole.

However, Ainzach immediately shot that proposal down.

"It may be true that no warrior is capable of beating Stronoff-dono. However, if Stronoff-dono faced a party of adventurers that was weaker than himself, the victors would undoubtedly be the adventurers. This is because adventuring parties have many methods of attack and defense — to continue the example of using Stronoff-dono, the party can use four times the amount of spells and martial arts as Stronoff-dono can. The impact of this difference is particularly marked when facing monsters who possess unique special abilities."

"Umu…"

"The ideal solution would be to recruit orichalcum and adamantite ranked adventurers for this. But before it comes to that, I would like the strongest adventurers in our city to set up a defensive line to keep the Vampire from invading us."

"That would be giving up the initiative, don't you think?"

"That is the best possible outcome of the worst-case scenario. Need I remind you that our foe is a one-man army?"

"I… I don't want to imagine the terror facing such a fearsome foe would entail…"

One could follow an army of ten thousand by their tracks and evade them easily. In addition, prodigious quantities of supplies would be needed to keep such an army on the march, so it would be difficult for them to do battle for long.

However, what if that army was compressed into a single person? And what if that person was able to use 「Invisibility」 or was adept at covert operations?

"Still, as an adventurer, I have to say that forming a defensive line will be very difficult, Guildmaster-dono. After all, coordinating our teams will need a fair bit of training time…"

"Well, in lieu of that, what do you think of everyone just deploying together?"

The adventurers promptly shot down the Mayor's proposal.

"I doubt that would be possible. In order to work as closely as that, we'll need to craft intricate battle plans, but the more complex the plan, the more likely it will go awry when something unexpected occurs. Rather than risk that, it would be better to not work together and just operate independently. Speaking of which, why did that Vampire appear there? What news does the Guild have about it?"

"About that… since the enemy is a powerful Vampire, the Guild does not have the full details on it at the moment. Just as we were about to put a scouting party together, the incident from last night occurred, which dispersed our forces."

"...I see. So you're worried that these two incidents are linked?"

"Indeed, that is so."

"Didn't Momon and his team take care of the graveyard incident? Was there anything on the bodies of the masterminds that would tie the two events together?"

That question plunged the room into a brief silence.

Ainz was puzzled. The Adventurer's Guildmaster — who had fielded answers without any hesitation — now turned to the Mayor, a questioning look in his eyes. Still, when one thought about it, this was information pertaining to the criminals that had conducted a terror attack on the city. There were things which could and could not be said to adventurers.

"From their belongings, we learned the enemy was from Zuranon."

The faces of the three adventurers turned grim.

However, this was the first time Ainz and Karna had heard that name. They fervently prayed to the gods they did not believe in that the others would not question them on this topic about which they knew nothing.

"That undead-controlling secret society? I guess they really are linked with that Vampire."

"So their aim was to trigger incidents within and outside the city to split our forces? Or are both of them decoys, and is the real plan about to begin… this is terrible."

"The most important thing is to make a reconnaissance. From what the rangers told us, there's a cave near the location where the Vampire was sighted. Apparently, that cave is a bandit's hideout…"

"It's quite likely that the Vampire has already departed that location… still, there's a non-zero chance of it remaining there, so we should send someone over—"

The adventurer who spoke immediately shut his mouth.

That was a natural reaction. After all, anyone heading to a likely location of that Vampire was essentially saying that they wanted to walk right into danger. If they really encountered the Vampire, and if the Vampire was as powerful as rumored, then certain death awaited them.

Those words were an indirect way of telling someone to kill themselves.

"...Let's leave that aside for now. It's more important to strengthen the city's defenses. After all, the Vampire might have infiltrated the city during this time, for all we know."

"...Well, it would be easy enough to infiltrate the city, as long as it could use magic. After all, this is not like the Imperial Capital, with air cavalry and magic casters on patrol."

One could use 「Fly」 to enter from the air, or walk right in with 「Invisibility」 for concealment. Magic was very troublesome to deal with, which was why consolidating their fighting strength and mounting a defense was the most logical course of action.

"Still, it's really hard to do anything without any concrete information. We really should investigate that cave!"

The opinions of everyone present gradually began shifting in favor of that extremely sensible proposal.

It would be very bad for Ainz and Karna if that came to pass.

Allowing Shalltear's appearance to become public knowledge would be a very bad thing. Although they did not know exactly how it would play out, allowing Shalltear's current appearance to disseminate through the city — perhaps even throughout the nation — would make covert actions very difficult in future.

Ainz desperately tried to think of a way to guide the situation in another direction.

``damn, think Karna, THINK!'

He looked over at Ainz to see he was no better. He sighed.

After a second Karna came to a conclusion, he silently nuged at Ainz and signaled him to follow alone and said:

"To begin with, you are mistaken. That Vampire has nothing to do with Zuranon."

"Why is that, Siegfried? Do you know something about this?"

"We know the name of that Vampire, because my team and I gather for that very reason, we became a team in order to hunt that creature."

"What!?"

The air shuddered.

Ainz's brain spun into overdrive — the main event was about to begin.

"It is an extremely powerful Vampire. In truth, the reason we became adventurer was to collect information about them."

This was a red herring; but Ainzach took the bait.

"Them? Momon-kun, did you just say 'them?'"

"Yes, I did. There are two of these Vampires, and one of them, the silver-haired female, is known as…"

He suddenly stopped here. Originally, he was going to say "Carmilla," but a name like that was far too normal for a female Vampire. If there were any other players around, that name would swiftly clue them in about his presence. Just as he was waffling over what name to give them, Karna answer:

"That vampire name is Vladella and it belongs to a more power sub race of Vampire, the Draculina"

'...please be stupid enough to buy that…'

'There is no way they will buy that, you literally went with the most obvious name for a vampire ever!'

"Eh?"

That idiotic-sounding reply had not come from one mouth; just about everyone had exclaimed in the same way.

"...Her name is Vlad-dell-la and she's a Dracul-lean-a."

'Please god, let this work'

"Yes"

"and you say that she belong in a sub race of Vampire."

Karna nodded.

"Is, is that so? That Vlad-de-la… ah, forget it! Since we know that female Vampire's name… It's about time you two told us your true identity, no? Which country are you—"

"I apologize, but we cannot say that right now. Currently, we are on a highly secret mission. If you find out, we will have no choice but to leave this land, and then you will have to deal with the Vampire yourself. I do not wish to have this become an international incident. You understand, don't you, Mayor?" Ainz said.

The Mayor nodded slowly, and as Ainzach saw this he bit his lip and looked intently at Ainz.

The Guildmaster's stare meant nothing to Ainz. However, he did not know if they had bought his story or if it contained any contradictions. Those two points of uncertainty filled Ainz's heart with unease, but Ainz brushed it aside with a brusqueness that would brook no interference and continued:

'Note to self, make a fake backstory for our team, I really hope Jeanne is alright…'

"Our team will handle the reconnaissance. If we find the Vampire there, we will slay it on the spot." Karna said in hope of ending this meeting.

Thus spoke the late-coming Heroic Spirit.

With these simple words, everyone could feel the confidence and determination brimming in Karna voice.

The air filled with a pressure which might have been mistaken for rumbling, and the sigh which followed made everyone think they had made the sound.

"Then, ah, the other teams will—"

"—Will not be needed. I do not need them to slow us down." Ainz said.

He waved off all opposition to that plan.

That tactless declaration was made with the utmost audacity.

That gesture was not a wise one, not among fellow adventurers of equivalent rank. However — all the adventurers here were grizzled veterans of countless life-and-death struggles. They could sense that his attitude was not born of recklessness, narcissism, or pride, but had been coldly, carefully calculated. At the same time, it spoke volumes of Momon and his team own strength that he could make such a statement.

It seemed as though Momon black armor was growing before their eyes, and the pressure they felt that came from Siegfried made them imagine that the room itself was shrinking. They could sense that these two warriors were one they could not hope to surpass; as though they were an adamantite ranked adventurer.

This people were a hero among heroes.

Ainzach choked his words back, and then took several deep breaths. In fact, everyone present was doing the same, and the Mayor even opened up his collar, his sweat flowing freely.

In a quiet voice, as though whispering into Momon and Siegfried ear, Ainzach asked:

"—What about your payment?"

"We don't mind discussing that afterwards. However, after this incident is resolved… after the discovery and destruction of the Vampire, We Would all like an orichalcum rank at the very least. That would make it more convenient for us when I track that other Vampire, it would be tiresome to have to keep proving our strength."

Everyone present gasped in realization at Ainz words.

Adventurers did not work for cities or countries, but this city did not have any orichalcum ranked adventurers at the moment. If all four of them became one of the highest ranked adventurers of this city, everybody would know their name. In addition, the rarity of orichalcum ranked adventurers meant that their fame would spread even further. In this way, people would come to them with dangerous missions, and it would allow them to learn about powerful Vampires.

A chair screeched, and as all eyes went to the source of the sound — needless to say, it was Igvarge, who had been hectoring Ainz and Karna all this while.

"I can't bring myself to believe in your strengths. Be-Besides, it's still not clear if that Vampire is as strong as you two said. Even animating that corpse could have been done through a magic item. We're going with you!"

The reason why Igvarge could still muster up his opposition to the supreme beings despite being shaken to the core was purely because of his hostility towards Ainz and Karna and his refusal to acknowledge them was beginning to make Karna really mad.

Perote spoke in a barbed tone:

"Igvarge, that tone of yours—"

"—It's fine."

Karna readily agreed to the request. However, there was no kindness in that reply; the following words were cold and ruthless.

Ainz slightly looked Karna 'well it is their fault, it can't be help'

"That said, I must warn you that if you come along… it'll be certain death for you. Your entire party might be killed as well, for all I know."

That matter-of-fact tone did not sound like a threat, nor did it sound like a joke. It was a flat prediction of the future, which sent a shudder through Igvarge's body. In fact, everyone present was chilled to the bone by that statement.

Karna shrugged.

"That's my warning to you. If you don't mind, then by all means, do come along but don't get in my way."

"Won't be a problem, I should be saying that"

He was bluffing, but he could not back down here. He could not run away from this. How could he, an adventurer of equal rank, disgrace himself before someone in power like the Mayor?

Just as the tension built again between the two of them, Ainzach — who had calmed down a little — asked:

"It's all well and good to be confident, but is there any basis for that confidence? Of course, we know that you are strong, but surely you must know that the foe is no pushover either. Frankly speaking, we're not sure if we can leave everything to you and your party either. If… if for some reason you're defeated, we need to think about what to do after that..."

Without skipping a beat, Ainz replied:

"We have a trump card."

"What is that?"

Ainz produced a crystal and showed it to the intrigued Ainzach.

"...It can't be! It's impossible, unbelievable…" Rakesheer shouted, before panting:

"I once read an old tome… they say that the Theocracy possesses powerful magic items which they consider their national treasures. This is one of them… a spell-sealing crystal. How did you come to possess such a thing!?"

"How surprising… but you have it right. In addition, this crystal now contains a spell of the eighth tier."

"What!? What did you just say!?"

The exclamations that Ainz had evoked from Rakesheer were like the cries of a strangled chicken. Even the man's face had distorted to quite a frightening extent.

Nor was it just Rakesheer who was shocked. Everyone — no, everybody except the Mayor had an expression of fear or surprise on their stunned faces. Any adventurer with even a meager bit of experience could understand the value of the item which Ainz had shown to them.

"...The eighth tier… you're lying, right?"

"...It might be a fairytale, but if it's really magic of that level… it would be nothing short of mythical."

"Are you kidding me!? What kind of nonsense is that!?"

The three adventurers — even Igvarge — stared intently at the crystal within the black gauntlet, frightened looks on their faces.

'So that the standard of this world huh, eighth tier is supposed to be impossible to achieve, good then we have the avantage'

"Forgive me! Could, could I borrow that item for a bit?"

"Why?"

"That… it's just a magic caster's curiosity. I vow I will not do anything strange to it! If you wish anything as collateral, I can pledge everything on my person, for instance, this belt—"

Rakesheer was already unbuckling his belt before he finished. Ainz replied in an annoyed tone:

"I understand, there's no need for that sort of thing. Here, have a look."

"Ah, sorry about this, but may I touch it too?"

"Me too!"

The spell-sealing crystal passed through several hands before reaching Rakesheer, who stared dumbly at it, like a woman who had finally obtained a jewel she had long thirsted for. No, one could say that he was like a boy who had found a treasure he had always sought.

"Amazing… ah, may I cast a spell on it?"

After seeing Ainz agree with a wave of his hand, Rakesheer eagerly worked his magic.

"「Appraisal Magic Item」, 「Detect Enchant」."

The look on the man's face grew even more exaggerated after he cast those spells, and then—

"Impossible!"

—There was no trace of the man from earlier. Instead, his innocent eyes radiated a look of pure delight, and even his tone was different, like he was a teenager again.

"It's true! It's really eighth tier magic! That's all my spells can tell me… but it's amazing, really amazing!"

He shouted like this over and over again, which left everyone else staring in stunned silence. Then, Rakesheer picked up the crystal and licked it all over, even mashing it into his face — like he had gone mad.

"Get, get a grip! What the hell are you doing!?"

Ainzach rose to his feet and drew close to Rakesheer, disturbed by his friend's sudden bout of insanity. Indeed, everyone was looking at him with an expression of shock or disgust. Such behavior was unsightly, coming from a man so highly-placed in the city.

"You idiot! How could anyone get a grip? This is seriously awesome! It's got an eighth tier spell inside it, though I don't know what spell it is!"

Rakesheer continued staring at the crystal in excitement, his eyes sparkling. Before long, he had slowly recovered his sanity, and he asked Ainz:

"Momon-dono! Where, where did you find this crystal!? Tell me!"

"It was dug up in a certain ruin, along with many magic items. Of course, the crystal already had the spell sealed inside it by the time it was discovered. I had a powerful magic caster identify it."

"I see! Then, then where is the site of this ruin!?"

"All I can tell you is that it is very far away, it was not in the continunte"

Rakesheer bit his lip as he heard Ainz's matter-of-fact reply.

"Then, could I have it back?"

"Uuu… yes."

Rakesheer looked around, then reluctantly returned the crystal to Ainz. As he watched Ainz wipe the crystal clean with a piece of parchment, he suddenly exclaimed:

"Back to the point, I — I oppose Momon and Siegfried going forth to slay the Vampire!"

'OH COME ON!'

A shocked silence settled over the room once more and Ainzach palmed his face. He grimaced, and then asked in a severe tone:

"...Why the sudden opposition? Well, I already know why, but still — I have to ask."

"Oh, that… it's because it would be too much of a waste."

He's gone completely insane, Ainzach decided as he looked on his friend and decided to discard his opinion.

"Well then, leaving Rakesheer's words aside…"

"Please wait! Magic of the eighth tier is practically of a divine level! How can you use such a valuable item on a mere Vampire?"

Anger boiled in Ainzach's eyes. He could no longer tolerate these outbursts, especially not from someone as highly placed as Rakesheer.

Then, Ainzach choked back his wrath, and calmly told the other man:

"...Forgive me, Rakesheer, but please don't continue making a scene."

The powerful subtext in those words returned Rakesheer to his senses and left him speechless. The slight blush in his cheeks was probably due to embarrassment at his earlier actions.

After glancing at his friend to make sure he was back to normal, Ainzach decided to formalize the request.

"...Then, we'll be leaving everything to you and your team"

Karna nodded confidently in response to Ainzach's humble submission.

'FINALLY!'

"I understand."

Then, he looked at Igvarge.

"We'll be moving out as soon as possible. Vampires suffer a penalty of slowed movement under daylight."

"Penalty? Eh, a weakness, then? They do move slowly in the day. Our side will be ready soon."

"...Not going to discuss it with your comrades?"

"It's fine, they'll understand."

"...Is that so? Then, we'll meet at E-Rantel's main gate in an hour."

"One hour? Isn't that a bit too soon? There's still a long time before sunset."

"We in a big hurry. If your courage is lacking and you need some time to psyche yourselves up, then we'll leave you here and go on our own. Any questions?"

"I get it. We'll prepare ourselves right away."

There was clear anger in Igvarge's voice as he rose after speaking. Karna coldly glared at Igvarge's retreating back, and then turned to look at the other people who were in the room.

"Then, we shall set out immediately. I hope everyone else will defend E-Rantel. I do not wish to return after not having encountered the Vampire to find that a troublesome situation has developed."

"Well, I can't say there won't be any problems, but you can leave it to us. If you meet any danger, I pray you will fall back immediately."

Ainz and Karna nodded and then left.

In the end, there were only three people left in the room; Panasolei, Ainzach, and Rakesheer, who still had a lovestruck expression on his face.

"I apologize for showing you that embarrassing side of myself."

"It's fine, don't worry."

Panasolei smiled sheepishly at Rakesheer's apology. However, their opinion of him had changed greatly.

Rakesheer also felt that it had been quite an unsightly display on his part, but even so, he found it difficult to conceal his excitement.

He had met Lizzie the herbalist some time ago, and she had eagerly shared the matter of the potion with him. As he listened to her excited exposition back then, he had regarded her with cool eyes and wondered if it was truly worth shouting about. Now, however, he wanted to laugh at his past self.

He now understood the uncontrollable surprise and emotional upheaval one felt when an unattainable object appeared before one's eyes.

"Was that truly such a valuable item?"

Rakesheer fell silent. This was because he was struggling to suppress the boyish glee which was welling up within him.

"Yes. That item could change everything we know about magic. The fact is, magic above the sixth tier only resides in the legends. That was the first time I personally saw something like that."

The spells known as tiered magic had appeared in this world about five hundred to six hundred years ago. After that, there had been several heroic magic-users, but the rumors of people other than the Thirteen Heroes using spells of the seventh tier and up were exactly that — rumors.

In the heroic sagas, there was a hero who once used a spell which made people conclude that "it's impossible even with magic of the seventh tier or higher," but most people thought that it was just a story. In addition, the question of whether the Thirteen Heroes actually used magic of the seventh tier and up was also in doubt.

However—

Rakesheer thought, these stories might not be entirely fictional. He made a mental note of this and told himself to investigate them when he had time.

For instance, the Goblin King who slew many dragons with an ash branch, the winged hero who soared through the sky for long periods, the mystic knight who rode a Tri-Head Dragon, the princess who ruled her crystal city with her twelve loyal knights, and so on.

"Then, can we trust them?"

Naturally, Panasolei was referring to Ainz and Karna.

"I received a potion from an adventurer in stylish black full plate and threw it at the Vampire, causing it to fall back" — that was the testimony of the sole surviving adventurer"

Thus, they had consulted the city's most renowned herbalist, Lizzie Bareare about the matter. What they had learned was that the potion was a magic item just as valuable as the spell-sealing crystal from just now.

While one might only be suspicious if they possessed just one exotic item, it was only natural to wonder who they were if they possessed two of them. Still, why had the Vampire halted its attack?

There were two possibilities. One was that they were in opposition. The other was that there was some link between them. This was why they wanted to see if such a relationship existed. Was Momon really a foe of this Vampire?

"Do you think they're in cahoots with the Vampire?"

This was what they were truly worried about, and the three of them thought back to their conversation with Momon.

"I think the possibility of that is very low. What do you think, Rakesheer?"

"I agree. There are better ways to pretend to kill the Vampire and then conceal her."

Even if the two really was linked to the Vampire, the response outlined earlier would do them no good at all.

"Could it be that they just wants to become an orichalcum ranked adventurer?"

"I doubt it, Mayor. Adventurers enjoy fame and prestige, but command little power. What are the benefits of becoming an orichalcum ranked adventurer, Ainzach?"

"...Well, you can accept better-paying requests, and you'll be more famous. If you're lucky, you might even be offered a government post with good terms… although, that's about it. Power can be much more easily gained through other means."

The most telling impression of adventurers was that they were specialized anti-monster mercenaries. Certainly, it was possible that one might become the leader of the local chapter of the Adventurer's Guild, but they would still be unable to reach a position where they could dictate national policy.

"If wealth was their aim, they could sell that crystal and never have to worry about money for the rest of their lives. Someone as strong as them could rise in fame quickly enough. The fact is, quite a few of the city guard are already calling them a legendary heroes."

Panasolei nodded in agreement.

They had taken out a towering undead creature in one hit, and then mowed through countless undead like a storm, leaving shattered bodies in their wake. These awe-inspiring sights were truly those which would be associated with a great hero.

The guards eagerly spread their accounts of Momon and his team prowess, patting their chests and declaring that there would be no need to fear monsters with them around.

"That said, I regret to say that we have no evidence to prove their reliability. Still, there are no contradictions in what Momon has said so far, and if he really was an enemy, why would he show us that spell-sealing crystal? I think we can trust him and his party."

Rakesheer's words put a grimace on the face of the other two men. That expression clearly said that it was hard to believe such words coming from a maniac like him.

"Mayor, Ainzach, the reason why neither of you can bring yourselves to trust Momon and his team is because they showed up just as the Vampire did, am I correct? However, I feel that Siegfried words can adequately explain that."

The two men nodded in agreement.

"In addition, if that female Vampire really was being hunted by Momon and his group, there's also a rational explanation for why she ceased her attack on the lady adventurer when it saw Momon-san's rare potion. In addition, it's possible that the female adventurer was spared because the Vampire wanted to let Momon-san and his team to know she was here."

"I see… so she wanted to let them think she was nearby and make them stay here. The female Vampire must have seen the female adventurer's potion and suspected that she was related to Momon-san and his team. Thus, she let her go, to spread the news of her presence. It does make sense…"

"...Given the fact that they chased that Vampire all the way here… I can't imagine she would be happy to learn that they were around."

"Indeed, Mayor. However, while we do not yet know which country they hail from, we should still treat them well and be on our guard. Although I don't think their that suspicious… kuku, I'd like to discuss the matter of Momon-san's magic items with him. His suit of armor looks quite valuable as well."

"...Speaking of them, there's something I wanted to ask you, Mayor — where are the corpses of Zuranon?"

"I have no idea."

The Mayor scowled as he said this.

The mangled corpses of Khajiit and his followers that were left behind by Ainz and his friends had been placed in storage under the eyes of layers upon layers of guards, but they had vanished after daybreak. Although they suspected that someone had broken in and stolen them, the guards had not been attacked and there were no signs of anyone suspicious.

The storage area had been built in a way that inhibited the use of teleportation magic; one could say that it was something of a secret room. Thus, there was no sign of how the intruders had even managed to enter. It was as though the Khajiit corpses had vanished in a puff of smoke.

They were still secretly searching for clues within the city, but nothing had turned up. The possibility of finding anything relevant were close to zero. In other words, there was nothing they could learn from the two corpses.

"Could it be that the unholy ritual they were conducting turned them into undead, which then escaped?"

"...We cannot rule that possibility out entirely."

"How troubling, we couldn't even get any evidence from it… the only possibility is that secret shrine under that chapel, no? It would be good if we could learn something useful from it."

"From what you said, it would seem that Momon-kun nor his companion did not enter that place. If we found an ownerless magic item of great value in there, could we hand to him?"

"Mmm, if those items have nothing to do with the ritual, then by adventurers' rules, they would belong to them."

—-

Ainz and Karna sped through the streets.

The warm wind filtered in through the slits in Ainz helmet, blowing over the location which corresponded to his eyes. Perhaps if he had eyeballs, he would be blinking non-stop, but Ainz lacked any sensory organs, so all he felt was "the wind is blowing."

Looking down, he saw the earth flying past him beneath his feet, like a loosed arrow. He did not know if it was because he was close to the ground or because of some other reason, but it felt like he was moving faster than he actually was. Of course, he was not frightened in the least. Still, every time his body bounced up, he reflexively channelled more strength into his legs.

Although Hamsuke could maintain its balance well, it was still a Djungarian Hamster, albeit a gigantic one. Ainz needed to spread his legs wide to ride it, and this unstable riding posture was compounded by a lack of reins, barding, or a saddle. Even someone with extraordinary balance like Ainz had to be careful not to fall off.

'It'll be hard to swing my sword while riding Hamsuke; perhaps I should have a set of riding tack and barding made for it soon. The head blacksmith's making a decoy suit of armor; perhaps I could get some help there'

It was not just the unsteady ride which brought that topic to mind, but also because of the shape which rode beside him.

Narberal and Karna was mounted on a horse while staying in line with Ainz. They rode a Statue of Animal - War Horse, a magic item which summoned a massive destrier in heavy plate barding.

They was a dazzling sight, skillfully guiding their gigantic horse as it galloped down the city streets. Narberal ponytail swayed in the wind, and her brown cape fluttered out behind her. The way she sat tall in the saddle was as though she had come straight off a movie screen.

Karna can be depicted as a knight in shining armor, his white hair blowing in the wind. His serious face, poseur and even the air that surrounded the man make him look like a true legendary hero.

In contrast, Ainz rode a giant Djungarian Hamster. How could he even compete? He looked forward, despair filling his heart, and saw a group of men there.

They were a team of four people, and they seemed better equipped than the members of Swords of Darkness, with whom Ainz and his friends had travelled with earlier.

Ainz tucked the matter of the Swords of Darkness into the corner of his mind, letting go of his complicated thoughts concerning that issue, and then studied the horses those people rode.

They were majestic beasts.

Ainz was no equestrian, but given that their coats gleamed and their bodies were in fine fettle, they should have been superior horses.

The four mounted men rode in a formation shaped like an isosceles triangle, and they too looked like they had sprung from a movie.

'I must look like an idiot riding Hamsuke. I certainly feel stupid enough'

'We could use a magic item to make Hamsuke look more badass' Karna voice rang in Ainz skull.

'Yeah, but there's a lot of problems with that, problems that could be easily avoided'

``I honestly don't get it, your an undead technically you shouldn't even feel anything, I'm the one who should be complaining, my partner is ride a giant hamster for god sake'

Before they could continue...

"That's an impressive-looking creature you're riding there."

Those words came from one of Igvarge's comrades as he tried to strike up conversation with Ainz. Unlike Igvarge, there was no hostility in his voice. Instead, it would seem Hamsuke had piqued his adventurer's curiosity, and his words were filled with wonder and awe.

"What manner of beast is that? Is it famous?"

"...It is the Wise King of the Forest."

"Ehhhh!? What!? That legendary monster!?"

The staring man's eyes went wide as he exclaimed in surprise.

I still can't get used to that sort of reaction. Why do they have to make such a big deal over a hamster…'

'New world new rules I guess, but this world is really weird'

Out of the corner of his eye, Ainz could see Hamsuke woffling its whiskers in pride, and its ears twitched in time with the movement. It was probably paying attention to Ainz's conversation, given the way it was shuddering under him.

Ainz mercilessly chopped Hamsuke on the head with his gauntleted hand, which produced a deep, reverberating sound from the creature's skull.

"No, I just heard Igvarge talk about it… I see, he's seeing red again."

"How did he describe me? Ah, forget it, you don't have to tell me. I can guess from the looks on your faces."

"Hahaha, my apologies. That guy… he's not really a bad sort, but he gets blinded by what's in front of him sometimes."

"...It's a wonder how you guys have stayed safe with a companion like that. Or has this party changed out a lot of members?"

"No, everybody's been with the team ever since it was formed. That guy's a pretty good adventurer, unlike what his personality would suggest."

"Pretty good… huh."

Karna turned to Igvarge, and received a hostile glare in response.

"You guys must have had a really hard time," Karna snorted. Then, after dropping that line, he raised his hand, indicating that Narberal should suppress the anger building within her towards Igvarge. Karna did not want to start a fight here — there were more important things which had to be done at this moment.

After Karna signalling to Narberal, Hamsuke raised its head.

"Milord… your servant's head hurts…"

Tears sparkled in those black, beady eyes.

Ainz felt a twinge of regret. Perhaps he had used too much force. Still, it would have been bad if he had been tossed off at those speeds.

He would not be hurt even if he hit the ground. Ainz had once conducted an experiment with one of the vassals who had similar damage reduction to his own, and it had not felt any pain even after being dropped from a height of one kilometer.

The problem was what would happen if his travelling companions began having their doubts about Ainz's toughness. Now that they had come this far together, Ainz was sincere about getting along with them until the very end.

"Run more evenly. I don't want to have to use strength when clinging to you."

"Understood! Milord must be worried about his servant's body!"

This time, Hamsuke teared up because it was moved, and Ainz ordered it to watch its front. It was then that Igvarge's companion from earlier addressed him in a respectful tone:

"Oh, that's amazing, to think you can maintain your balance in such a precarious position. This would be pretty dangerous, even for someone with a good sense of balance like yours, no?"

"It's because I'm used to it… though I do intend to have it fitted for a saddle soon."

"A harness, huh… I don't really like that… just a jape, of course! If Milord desires it, then your servant has no objections!"

Under Narberal's reproachful gaze, Hamsuke scrambled to display the attitude befitting of a loyal vassal. The vibrations coming from beneath Ainz's waist were different from the tremors of travel.

Karna sigh.

'There's no need to frighten a hamster with killing intent, is there? While I do appreciate that sort of loyalty, isn't that going a bit too far? It's fine to look down on human beings, but there's a time and place for that sort of thing… She doesn't quite seem to grasp that concept… Was she really designed that way? There's not much which can be done if she's like that, but…'

Just having Hamsuke with them was a huge boost to their fame, and the combination of the Wise King of the Forest's staunch loyalty to Ainz was far different from the fear it inspired in others. The first would make people think highly of them and consider them to be a noble adventurer. Although it did not mean much to Karna, he wanted to continue developing in that direction since he had the chance to do so. This was also because he wanted to be regarded as a hero.

In addition, it would be helpful to have people outside of Nazarick swear loyalty to them.

'Come on Ainz, it just an animal do be cruel'

That made Ainz reflect on his actions, and he considered that he might have been too rough towards Hamsuke. Therefore, he lightly patted the place which he had chopped just now, as though stroking a small animal.

"Milord… this is embarrassing…it is"

The sound of grinding teeth was clearly audible to Ainz, through the galloping of horses.

'...You're part of the reason I'm doing this, speaking of which, how hard are you grinding your teeth anyway? If she's really jealous, then I should do something for her, right? Narberal been very loyal too, but… what kind of reward can I give her?

'Ring, bad idea, pat on the head okay, but no physical possession'

'Why?'

'Albedo…'

'...fair point…'

As Ainz sigh in regret for messing with Tabula NPC setting, Igvarge spoke in a thoroughly unfriendly manner.

"Oi, we're here."

After indicating that it understood, Hamsuke gradually reduced its speed. Unlike a horse, Ainz could communicate directly to Hamsuke. Ainz had no equestrian experience and was not at all confident about stopping a horse.

It's a little embarrassing to ride Hamsuke, but I should be glad because I don't have to ride a horse. Still, the time might come when I might have to do so, I should probably practice a little in case of emergencies.

Ainz leapt off Hamsuke, then petted it in gratitude. Narberal and Karna transformed their horse back into a statuette and the men tied up their horses.

"Then, let's go. What formation should we take when moving?"

"We'll take the lead, you can follow behind."

"I don't care what you do, just keep us in mind and be careful."

After hearing Igvarge's annoyed response, Karna and Ainz led Narberal and Hamsuke into the forest.

Much like the forest near Carne Village, the woodlands here bore no signs of human habitation and were very difficult to traverse. However, Ainz was festooned in magic items and thus it seemed like a flat plain to him. In addition, his anxiety over Shalltear made him quicken his pace, to the point where Igvarge had to ask them to slow down.

Well, he did ask them, but his crude words were full of hostility. Narberal — who was walking beside Karna — very nearly turned around to rebuke him, but Karna forced her to keep quiet.

"We're almost there, act like an adult."

Karna smiled as he saw the frustrated look on Narberal's face. By now, Hamsuke had sensed something amiss, and its ears twitched continuously, as though it had heard something.

Ainz knew what had prompted that response from Hamsuke, and so he whispered into Hamsuke's ear:

"—Stop that."

"What? Milord, what are you—"

"—The sound of metal you might have heard is from my subordinates. Pay it no heed."

"Yes, yes, it is. My apologies, milord."

"By the way, have you picked up on anyone following us aside from that?"

Karna had ordered Nigredo to establish surveillance and had taken many other precautions besides, but he asked again just to be sure.

"No, other than that, almost nobody is following us."

"Oi~ what's happening up there?" asked the man who had been riding beside Ainz. Since the team's representative Igvarge was not asking that question, his presence here needed no explanation.

Ainz waved a hand, indicating that nothing was wrong.

"Really?"

The man did not seem happy with that answer, but after sensing that Ainz did not want to talk about it, he shrugged and did not press the matter.

Well, it's not like I hate you or anything.

Ainz merely thought those words without speaking them as he silently advanced through the forest.

After they had travelled some distance, the sound of weapons being drawn one after the other came from the rear. Ainz, Karna and Narberal halted and leisurely looked back.

"Is something the matter?"

"Is something the matter!? You're on point, you should be more alert!"

This was the first time the other men showed their approval for Igvarge's hostility.

"Oi! You, hiding over there, come out slowly!"

Igvarge was shouting at a tree which was large enough to hide a person's silhouette.

Amidst the growing tension in the air, Karna and Ainz calmly walked over to that tree. A somewhat panicked voice called out to him, but they paid it no heed.

Narberal watched like it was the natural thing to do. Hamsuke had his doubts, but he did not offer any opposition.

As he drew close to the tree, someone stepped out from behind it, as though in response. The person in question was dressed in a suit of full plate armor which was the same black as Ainz own. That person held a gigantic axe (a bardiche) which radiated a sickly green glow.

The commanding presence of this warrior filled the scene with a strange air. Or rather, only parts of it were filled with strangeness.

Karna gently raised a hand and said:

"Thank you for coming all this way."

"Thank you, Lord Karna."

The warrior — Albedo — bowed respectfully to her lord and masters.

"Then, Shallte—"

"—Who is she? Is she a friend of yours? And what's this about Lord Karna?"

These loud questions bombarded Ainz and Karna from behind, one after the other.

This was an entirely understandable reaction for Igvarge and his crew, but it was an unpardonable offense to Albedo, who was still bowing to Ainz and Karna. Fiery rancor blazed within her heart, and then she let it out, as though she planned to incinerate everything in the area with the flames of her wrath.

Hamsuke shuddered, every hair on its body standing on end, more than ever before.

Given that even a bystander had this sort of reaction, how much worse must it have been for the targets of Albedo's fury? Their faces had turned white and oily sweat cascaded down their foreheads as they realised that their insignificant lives would be snuffed out shortly.

"Allow me to introduce you to everyone. This is our companion — Albedo."

"Ainz-sama, I find it hard to believe that you would consider me a companion… after all, I am but your loyal servant."

"That is true, so I take those words back. She is my subordinate; does that answer your question? Then, Albedo, commence the next step, as we planned."

The men were still staring in stunned silence as Albedo walked towards them.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Our name is not Siegfried nor Momon. Our real name is Karna and Ainz. Not that you need to remember that, of course." Karna said.

Albedo smiled smugly as she beheld the confused looks on the men's faces. However, that smile was as icy as the grave.

"Then, Albedo… deal with them. Take one alive… no, another one might be good as a spare. The jamming is already in place, so you can go ahead and use magical communication."

Just as the shock from hearing Karna calm and dispassionate orders began filtering into the minds of Igvarge and his people, Karna continued his instructions:

"Take their corpses back to Nazarick. If they're strong enough, we can use them for experiments in making high tier undead."

"Understood My lord."

Albedo slowly raised her weapon, the gigantic axe.

There was no murderous intent or hostility in that action.

That was only to be expected. After all, to Albedo, chopping off the heads of inferior lifeforms (humans) was little more than cutting the leaves off a daikon.

If this were not Karna order, she might not even need to swing her weapon to verify her calmness.

Igvarge and his party might not have understood the situation, but they still knew they were in danger, and they raised their swords in preparation to fight.

Bathed in looks of shock, Ainz and Karna merely shrugged.

"Ah, sorry about that. I misspoke back in the guild; when I said 'Following us is certain death,' I actually meant 'If you follow us, we will kill all of you.'"

Thus did Ainz pronounce their death sentence.

"We warned you, but you would not listen. These are the consequences of your choice. Accept them with dignity."

Igvarge and his group chose to retreat.

The reason why they had all immediately fallen back without so much as verifying the plan with hand signals was because they understood the vast difference between their respective battle strengths. In addition, they did not retreat as one, but they split up to flee, in order to maximize their chances of survival.

Their reaction was outside the scope of Albedo's predictions, and she was a moment too late to respond. Although her physical attributes far exceeded those of Ainz, chasing an enemy through the forest was still quite troublesome.

A multiple shadow leaped out of the surrounding tree and chased down the fleeing men, one of the shadow caught it first target in an instant, and killed him with a blade slice through it throat.

Second later, one can hear multiple grunts and scream as body hits the ground. Suddenly all the corpses were thrown out and hit the ground. In front of Ainz and Karna were the dead body of the foolish adventurers, the shadowy figures emerge from the tree line to reveal Obito, Shisui, Itachi and Sasuke.

"Mare, deal with the last two. Ah, right, kill the man who was disrespectful to to the supreme ones."

Igvarge ran.

Back in the Guild, he had understood to some extent that Momon and Siegfried were better adventurer than himself, but Igvarge was unwilling to acknowledge that fact.

However, when he personally witnessed the commanding figure of Momon's majestic riding beast — the ancient, legendary monster known as the Wise King of The Forest — he had no choice but to accept it. Anyone who could tame such a creature by strength alone was clearly far beyond mithril rank.

As he realised that what they had discussed in that room was true, Igvarge's heart filled with anger.

I don't know what country you're from, but don't get in my way. I can give you information if you want, but in exchange, go stand aside and wait.

To Igvarge, it was as though someone had trespassed in his territory.

He and his group had trained hard to fulfill their dreams, had slowly climbed the ranks after countless close brushes with death. It was only natural that they would be unhappy when somebody cut in all of a sudden and jumped several ranks.

He would pull those two down if he had the chance. He would ruin Momon and Siegfried reputation with false rumors. That was what Igvarge had in mind when he had chosen to set out with Momon and his party.

This was also why — when their black-clad companion showed up and declared she was going to kill Igvarge and his group — he could fall back with no hesitation at all. Though he was afraid, he still moved faster than anyone else. He was driven by the malicious desire to spread bad news about Momon and Siegfried — about Ainz and Karna to the Guild.

Serves you right, I'll make it back alive for sure and then I'll disclose everything about you to the world!

He did not know how they would connected to the Vampire. However, he was sure he could steer the rumors in that direction

Though he knew that terrible weapon might scythe down on him at any time, though he knew his life might be in danger, Igvarge laughed, unable to suppress the emotions surging up in his heart.

He did not care about his comrades at all. No, if they became decoys that let him live on, so much the better.

I will reach the top. I will attain the orichalcum, then the adamantite rank, and become a renowned hero.

There was no need for anybody strong beside himself. His companions were all stepping stones on his climb to the summit. He would be the true hero who saved the world, like the Thirteen Heroes of the past. This was the dream Igvarge had ever since he had heard the saga of the Thirteen Heroes in his youth from a bard in his village.

But then, there was a man who was going to stand in the way of his dreams — was going to surpass him and his team. Worse, he was doing it as a part-time job. That was unforgivable.

He ran and he ran and he ran.

The fact that Igvarge could run at top speed through the forest without his face turning red or panting was proof that he was indeed a mithril ranked adventurer.

However—

Ripples coursed through Igvarge's heart; big ones.

Where is this place? I circled around because I was afraid they would have set up an ambush near the horses… eh?

Igvarge felt that this was right, and his sense of direction told him that much. However, his sixth sense said otherwise. He would not get lost even if this was his first time in any particular forest. However, for some reason, he was still uncertain of his location.

I must be imagining things, he thought. Though, this did not feel like his imagination at all. However reluctant, he had to acknowledge that this was real.

"...Am I lost? But… how could a forest stalker like myself get lost?"

Igvarge's vocation was one which specialized in outdoor movement. In a sense, the woods were like his backyard. However, a strange, unsettling feeling filled him. This forest now seemed like the gaping maw of some vast carnivorous beast.

"It's just like a maze…"

Unease and anxiety welled up inside, as a change came over the forest which should have been completely familiar to him.

And then—

—He heard the sound of quiet rustling.

Igvarge recalled the black-clad executioner from just now, and jerked his head back to look at the source of the sound. He saw a child's head poking out from behind a tree.

That child was a Dark Elf, closely related to the Elves, who were humanoids which lived in the depths of the forest.

Why is there a Dark Elf here?

He had heard that the large settlements of the Dark Elves were located in the great forests to the south, where no man had ever set foot. Dark Elves were the sort who lived far away from civilized areas. In that respect, they were different from the Forest Elves, who traded with humanity.

There was something strange about this Dark Elf, who was also a child. It filled Igvarge's heart with doubt. Just then, the child nervously stepped forward.

It's a girl.

She was dressed in female attire, and the frightened look on her delicate, beautiful face aroused Igvarge's sadistic desires. Although he wondered if this girl had been sent by Momon or Siegfried, the two of them had completely different attitudes, and so he laughed the idea off as impossible.

More importantly, if this girl was a Dark Elf that lived in this forest, she would surely know a safe route out of it. In addition, if that black-armored woman caught up to him, he could use the girl as a hostage. With that in mind, Igvarge decided to try and get the girl to obey him, and so he took a step forward.

"...Oi."

He intentionally pitched his voice low, filling it with notes of menace, and startled the Dark Elf girl into taking a step back.

"Ah, I, I'm sorry…"

Igvarge chuckled coldly as he saw the nervous look on her face. He was confident that his plan would work.

"No need to be sorry. There's something I want to ask you, so come over here."

"Uh… uhh… about that… I'm really sorry."

A question mark seemed to appear over Igvarge's head as he wondered why she was apologizing again. However, the ebony staff in the Dark Elf girl's hand had already swung towards him.

The vegetation turned to snares, which securely bound Igvarge's entire body.

He trembled in shock.

How could a mithril ranked adventurer like himself fail to stop the magic of a brat like her?

Even after struggling with all his might, the plants refused to budge. As anxiety and panic filled his heart, Igvarge raised his voice and shouted:

"You — you little bitch! If you don't let me go, I'll kill you! Oi!"

The Dark Elf nervously lowered her head and advanced toward Igvarge.

It was then that Igvarge realised her outfit was quite exceptional. Both her clothes and armor were masterfully made, of the sort which Igvarge himself would not be able to acquire. In addition, her eyes — the memory of something an Elf friend of his once said surfaced hazily in his mind.

However, before the memory could fully take shape, a shadow fell across his face.

The girl forcefully swung her staff.

Though her face still looked afraid, there was no emotion in her eyes. She did not feel anything about what she was about to do to Igvarge. It was as though her fearful attitude was just an act she had been directed to put on.

He superimposed the form of the girl before him over that of the black-armored woman from just now.

"Wait, wait a minute! What are you trying to—"

Albedo alone with Obito and brothers arrived just as Mare's staff fell on the man's head. His helmet deformed under the impact of the staff and the skull below caved in, while his eyeballs popped free of his head from the force of the tremendous impact. His head was thoroughly smashed, like a watermelon during a suikawari game at the beach in summer.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Ah, about that, Albedo-sama, it, it's over… is, is this fine?"

Albedo removed her helmet, and smiled to Mare as he looked up nervously to her.

"It was perfect. Granted, it was a somewhat messy way of killing him, but it's fine. The supreme ones will surely praise you for this."

"Re-Really? Ehehehe."

The delighted Dark Elf looked to the corpse, and then Albedo asked:

"How about the other one?"

"Ah, w-well… he's been taken care of. I, I dragged the corpse behind a tree..."

"Is that so? Beautifully done. Then, Mare, can you help me bring the corpses back to Nazarick?"

"I... I got it."

Albedo smiled once more to the smiling boy who was giggling as he held his bloodstained staff. He was such an honest boy.

Still, he would do well to be more open.

"It is finished, my lord," Obito said, as he took of his mask. He was simply handsome with dark almost black blue hair and his high and build he was very physically attractive, however, the right half of his face was left heavily scarred.

Ainz and Karna nodded as they heard this. Now, there were no witnesses to Shalltear's identity. With his armor gone, Ainz felt quite at ease as he replied:

"Good work. How about the recovery of the bodies?"

"I have already asked Mare to send them back to Nazarick." Albedo repled.

"I see. Well then, that problem's taken care of. Sadly, they were killed by the Vampire, so we, the survivors, must continue pressing on."

"Understood. Then… lord Ainz, what is that trembling creature which cowers under your cloak?"

Ainz turned, and found that as expected — although it was quite hard to understand why such a large creature would do such a thing — Hamsuke was clinging to his cloak. Its large, beady eyes were moist, and its fur stood in terror. Of course, it was Albedo which it feared.

"Think of it as my pet. I have named it Hamsuke."

"What!? That thing actually has the position coveted by all the denizens of Nazarick!?"

"...Hm? ...Ah, Hamsuke. This is Albedo and Obito, my faithful servant who rules my domain of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. In other words, they are your boss. Go, introduce yourself to them."

"This lowly one is, as milord has already said, known as Hamsuke. I place myself in your care."

"...Pleased to meet you, Hamsuke." Albedo said.

"Hn" Obito nodded in approval.

"All right, introductions are over. From now on, I will be going onward with Karna, Albedo and Obito. Narberal, return to Nazarick with Hamsuke and Mare… and pay attention to the object I put in your mouth."

"Yes!"

Narberal's reply was quite energetic. Hamsuke swirled the object it had received in the graveyard within its mouth, and it asked Narberal in a garbled way:

"Un-Understood, milord. And — this thing is really noisy! I have an important question to ask! Quiet down in there! Then, this one has a question to ask… Narberal-dono, will this one be in danger? Will this one be eaten up?"

"Since you are now the supreme ones pet, you will not be eaten without authorization. I will inform everybody; there is no need to worry."

Ainz face did not move, but he was smiling. It would seem that letting them travel together in E-Rantel had improved their relationship.

"Alright, then let's go." Karna said.

"Understood."

As Narberal and Hamsuke watched, Ainz, Karna, obito and Albedo headed toward Shalltear's location.

"Ah, yes, Ainz-sama. The corpses of those men reminded me of the words you spoke to me in the Throne Room. Shall we recover the corpses of the man which you eliminated last night, lord Ainz?"

"Well, about that…"

Just as he was about to repeat what he had told Narberal last night about, "we need to pin the blame on someone as the masterminds of this incident," Albedo continued speaking and interrupted him.

"He might have learned something while fighting you, lord Ainz. Since there is magic which can bring the dead back to life, the best course of action would have been to immediately recover his corpse. Or was there some special reason for doing otherwise?"

Ainz's breathing stopped — no, he had not needed to breathe in the first place.

Albedo had hit the nail on the head.

...Crap.

Resurrection magic existed in this world; in other words, dead men could tell tales, better than what any autopsy would say.

Ainz recalled the events of that night. He thought about his and his friends real identity, the name of Nazarick, and Narberal's abilities. That man and woman knew it all, especially that woman, though she was already captured that man probably still know something.

This was too fatal of a mistake to be written off with the word "mistake".

All he could do was hope that nobody could use resurrection magic, but according to the information gained from the Sunlight Scripture, there were people within the Slaine Theocracy who could use such magic. In addition, there was a high chance that top ranked (adamantite) adventurers possessed spells like that, and high ranking officials in a country might secretly command people who were capable of such magic.

If that were the case, the higher-ups in E-Rantel would look for people to use magic on them once they concluded that the deceased possessed such important information. Given that what they had done would have shaken E-Rantel, it would be natural for said higher-ups to want to know more.

Ainz felt his nonexistent heart beating at a breakneck pace.

What should I do now?

It went without saying that he had to recover the bodies as quickly as possible. However, who should he send?

Ainz had told Narberal not to bother with the corpses. Should he publicly tell her that was a mistake?

...No, I shouldn't say anything.

He should avoid saying anything that might lower their faith to him further as long as he did not know why Shalltear had betrayed him. He had to remain calm in a situation like this.

Ainz now knew why the superiors in his company were unwilling to admit their mistakes. With a prayer in his heart, he made a decision.

"...Indeed, that is correct. However, I do have a special reason for leaving his bodies. So do not worry Albedo, everything dances within the palm of my hand… the matter of Shalltear aside."

"I see! As expected of you, Ainz-sama. I see you have already anticipated the developments I had in mind. It seems I have spoken too much, and I apologize for that. Come to think of it, why did you not use resurrection magic at all, Ainz-sama? It would allow you to question dead humans and the like while gathering information."

"...Eh?"

A very off-key squeak of surprise escaped Ainz.

'Man she is smart, damn it Tabula, Why did you made her so smart?'

"Did I not mention it? Then, have you heard of Demiurge's healing experiments?"

"Yes, I have. Sever all four limbs. heal them with magic, those experiments, right?"

"Indeed. Then, another question for you. Do you know where a resurrection spell has to be applied?"

"Is it not on the corpse?"

"...I don't think so… hm, at least, I don't think so, no?"

Albedo went silent alongside Ainz, and then her eyes sparkled.

"Ah! It seems I misspoke. Ainz-sama, you are correct. It is not on the corpse, but the soul!"

"Indeed. In Demiurge's experiments, the severed limbs vanished and grew from the body once more. Now, when you cast a spell on the soul, what will happen to the body?"

In YGGDRASIL, one could choose to come back to life at one of four locations when casting an XP-draining resurrection spell.

The first was at the corpse itself. The second was at the entrance of the dungeon or other location. The third was in a nearby safe town. And the fourth would be at a designated respawn point within a guild base or other stronghold.

That being the case, where would people in this world come back to life when resurrection magic was cast on them?

The scenario which Ainz most wanted to avoid was the fourth kind, coming back to life at a designated home point. If Nigun came back to life in the Slaine Theocracy, Ainz would have essentially resurrected an enemy, filled him full of useful information, and then kindly released him back into the wild.

This was why he could not conduct experiments with resurrection magic, but in return it had led to these undesired consequences.

"I see, so that's how it is. We must take note of these things. As expected of you, Ainz-sama — I am awed by your keen insight."

As he watched Albedo lower her head in admiration, Ainz immediately shook his head and replied:

"Pay it no heed. Although, I do need to find a place to conduct an experiment like that… hm. Then, once we're ready, we'll set out."

After a short while of walking Karna asked "small talk aside, Albedo where is Jeanne?"

"Lady Jeanne is waiting for you at Shalltear location my lord"

"I see, then what did you and Jeanne do while Ainz and I where at the guild?"

Albedo lowered her head slightly "...well my lord…"

—-

Same time as when Ainz and Karna where at the guild.

Under Albedo's guidance, Jeanne strode into the forest. She was closely followed by Obito and his brothers who were hidden in the shadow.

The six of them reached a large clearing within the woods.

One could say this scene was filled with a rustic charm, but in the middle of it stood something that was completely out of place here — a person in a suit of crimson full plate armor. It was a fantastic sight as it glittered in the sunlight, but the stink of gore it gave off ruined the atmosphere.

It was Shalltear.

She looked exactly like what he had seen on the 「Crystal Monitor」, right down to her seemingly-unchanged posture. For a moment, Jeanne wondered if she was still looking at Shalltear image.

However, it felt real enough. The reason was that was the stench of blood carried to her by the wind.

Jeanne breathed in and out repeatedly.

"Shalltear," Jeanne said to her.

She felt that her voice should have been stern and commanding, and yet the words she spoke were hoarse and quiet and pathetic.

Yet, there was no response.

Before she called out to Shalltear again, Jeanne carefully sized her up.

Shalltear was not ignoring her. Rather, her crimson eyes were open and vacuous, giving the impression that there was no consciousness there.

Albedo, who was standing beside Jeanne, grew furious at Shalltear's attitude.

"Shalltear! Not only do you not have an explanation for your deeds, but you compound it with rudeness to lady Jeanne!"

"Shalltear Bloodfallen, answered your master!" Obito said as his eyes burned red.

"Enough! Do not approach Shalltear!" Jeanne warned.

Jeanne harsh words stopped Albedo and Obito in their tracks as they were about to advance on Shalltear, though it was directed at Obito brothers but they too stop in their advanced. This was a tone Jeanne very rarely took with the NPCs made by her friends, but on this occasion, it could not be helped.

That was how shocked Jeanne was by Shalltear's current condition.

"...Could this be… is it even possible? ...Unbelievable."

Jeanne compared scenes from her past to the Shalltear she saw before her, and shock ran through her. She took a deep breath once again, which allowed her to make a calm decision and realize that the possibility she had in mind was the most likely one.

Jeanne addressed Albedo and Obito. She wanted to share her thoughts, and by doing so, acknowledge the reality of the situation.

"I'm sure of it now. Shalltear is under mind control."

"Is this due to the reason you and other supreme beings mentioned in the Throne Room, lady Jeanne?" Shisui asked.

"I can't be sure just yet… judging from the information supplied by the Sunlight Scripture and my own experience with this sort of thing, I'm certain this is some form of mind control. Of course, I don't know how or why the undead Shalltear was controlled. Could this be the result of some phenomenon unique to this world?"

Jeanne folded her arms, and carefully examined the bolt-upright Shalltear.

"Some mysterious person attempted to control Shalltear's mind, but something happened before that person could issue any orders. Perhaps they were struck down just as they made their move… in any case, I'm pretty sure that was what left her standing here by herself, without any orders. However, she will probably defend herself against anyone who gets too close or who attacks her. Most evil-aligned NPCs will do just that, so don't get too close."

"Understood My lady. However, we will not be able to drag her back to Nazarick like this… That will be fine as long as Shalltear's attempted controller is dead, but if that person is still alive, it will be dangerous to wait here." Itachi said.

"An accurate consideration."

Shalltear had been mind controlled by something. It might be something unique to this world, something that could work on the undead. If that were the case, Jeanne might end up getting mind controlled as well if she stayed here.

"Although this item is quite expensive, we'd best dispel Shalltear's mind control as soon as possible."

Jeanne pulled out a ring from her inventory and put it on her fingers. One of the rings she wore a plain and undecorated item, glowed with a silver light and displayed three meteors on its face. One could say this was one of the mightiest rings Jeanne had in her possession.

"May I asked what is that my lady…?" Shisui asked.

Upon seeing everyone puzzled expression, Jeanne face was filled with a proud smile as she spoke the ring's name.

"This is Shooting Star, an extremely rare item that allows its bearer three uses of the super tier magic, 「Wish Upon a Star」I believe Ainz-kun have one as well."

This was the gacha item that Jeanne had spent her IRL money on. Though she only spend her money one time to get it, Ainz on the other spend his entire summer bonus on the thing. This event lead to many fun moments in Jeanne life as whenever she and Ainz would talk about item, Ainz would inevitably bring the subject of the gacha game and this lead to a lot of tease from the guild.

Among the guild members, only Ainz, Karna Yamaiko and Jeanne could boast ownership of such an unbelievably rare item.

The super tier spell imbued within the ring, 「Wish Upon A Star」, was one which consumed a percentage of one's XP bar to randomly generate an option for a wish. In other words, by spending ten percent of one's XP bar, one could make one choice. By spending fifty percent, one could pick from five choices.

There were many choices that could be made for a wish; according to online walkthroughs, there were over two hundred of them. In addition, some wishes were more common than others; thus, this was a dreadful spell which many feared would deplete their XP for nothing.

Even in YGGDRASIL where gaining levels was easy, one would still need a lot of XP to cast it, given that a magic caster needed to be level ninety five before learning this super tier spell. Thus, many people hesitated over whether or not to gamble their XP on this sort of thing.

The choices one could make when casting 「Wish Upon A Star」 from the ring were randomly generated, much like the original spell. However, one was more likely to get useful selections, and fewer joke selections. From a certain point of view, one might say it was a better version of the spell. In addition, one would be presented with up to ten choices to pick from, and there would be no casting time. It was worthy of being called the best cash item.

Of course, it felt like a shame — and a bit of a gamble — to have to use a cash item like this. However, Shalltear was irreplaceable. In addition, using her own leftover XP would affect her use of other skills which drained her XP, so she had her doubts about going that route.

Jeanne stared at her ring.

Jeanne hoped that she would be given a choice to negate all effects on a given target. She had also thought of several other alternatives, but that was the most direct option which came to mind.

Very few people would pick that wish since it would also negate all positive effects. Thus, Jeanne laughed at herself for thinking of it.

"Then, hear me, oh ring. I WISH!"

Of course, she did not need to speak those words to activate the item. However, she was driven by her desire to be granted the most optimal choice from over 200 available options, hence her cry. It was like how one might shout during a tense moment in a game or over a throw of the dice.

Since the magic of this world seemed to operate along the same lines as YGGDRASIL, the ring should be able to remove Shalltear's mind control. Or rather, that was what Jeanne hoped would be the case.

The scenario Jeanne most feared — that the spell did not work — did not come to pass. The ring released the magic stored within it into this world…

A large blue magic circle with strange patterns, symbols and letters appear beneath their feet. Jeanne body glowed slightly as began her wish upon the stars.

"What… is this…"

It felt as though new information was being entered into her mind — something along the lines of displeasure and happiness. At the same time, she felt like she had been connected to something vast, though she does not know what it was. Suddenly Jeanne realised that 「Wish Upon A Star」 worked differently here than it did in YGGDRASIL.

When Jeanne and her friends had first learned of Nfirea talent, she had idly wondered if she could use it with 「Wish Upon A Star」. Now, she realized that she could have done it. In this world, 「Wish Upon a Star」 was a spell that would grant its caster's wishes. Although it would still expend XP, 「Wish Upon A Star」 was now a spell that could make the impossible possible. In addition, by sacrificing five levels — five hundred percent of her XP bar — one could one could make even greater wishes come true.

With that in mind, Jeanne felt certain that she could dispel the magical effects on Shalltear. As triumph surged through her, Jeanne shouted:

"Now ring, dispel all status effects on Shalltear!"

A beat later, the hopeful lights in Jeanne eyes grew steadily larger and suddenly the magic circle cracks and shatter like glass.

"!"

Albedo realised that something had changed when she saw Jeanne agitated reaction. She uneasily asked:

"My lady, is something wrong?"

Jeanne had no time to answer. She was recalling the news she had absorbed from various walkthrough sites, her own long experience with YGGDRASIL, then combining them with what she had learned ever since coming to this world. The most important parts of that was the information concerning the use of 「Wish Upon A Star」, the spell which had completely overturned Jeanne accumulated knowledge.

Anxiety and anger filled Jeanne as she came to a conclusion. However, she could something else— fear.

Jeanne shouted:

"We're falling back! Albedo, Obito and everyone else over here now! We're retreating!"

"!"

"Yes my lady"

Jeanne cast her teleportation spell, and in the next moment, a berm of earth filled her eyes. Though she was now safe, Jeanne ordered in a panic:

"Obito, Shisui, Itachi And Sasuk! Watch out for anyone who might have teleported after us!"

"Yes My lady!" With that, all of them immediately form a defensive formation around Jeanne.

They all activated their power (Sharingan) and drew their weapons. Albedo drew her weapon as well and stood by Jeanne side to act as her shield. Jeanne drew her silver sword, taking a stance to deal with anything which might come.

As time passed, Jeanne allowed herself to slowly relax. Albedo too stood down from her ready stance, back into her normal posture. But Obito and his brother still stood strong and was ready for any attack.

"...Dammit!"

Furious angered filled Jeanne heart. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, she unknowingly let her aura leak out. She was among the strongest in YGGDRASIL and by letting her power leak out like this was dangerous.

Her power was so great that the ground beneath Albedo and Obito feet began to crack and shake.

'The power of the supreme beings'

'What power...'

"...M-my L-lady, Lady Jeanne, please, be at peace…"

Jeanne noticed the undercurrent of fear in Albedo's voice, and she finally realized that her behavior was not fitting of a ruler. She swiftly calmed herself down, forcefully exhaling the breath she was holding. It felt as though she was expelling the fiery wrath consuming her through that breath. Her power faded and the her aura was no more.

"...Forgive me. I seem to have lost my senses for a moment. Pay that unsightly scene no heed."

"Please do not say that. However, I am grateful that you took my suggestion to heart, lady Jeanne. If it is your wish that we shall forget ever seeing that, then we shall remove it from our mind. However — may I asked what happened? Did we displease you, lady Jeanne? If you are willing to tell me, I shall strive not to let it happen again."

"Yes my lady, if it something that we did then please tell us, to be the cause of your anger is a great sin, we shall immediately repent for our action" Obito said

"...My anger was not directed at you, nor was it at Albedo. It was because I learned that my wish did not come true, even after activating the power of a divine level item like this ring."

Seeing how everyone remained silent, Jeanne knew that her explanation was insufficient, so she continued:

"...There is only one thing which can trump the power of the super tier spell 「Wish Upon A Star」."

Perhaps earlier, she might have thought it was interference from something in this world, but Jeanne was confident that it was not the case. This was because she had sensed it as she activated the ring.

"It, it can't be… that would be…"

"Yes, Itachi. There is only one thing which can do that… and I'd never thought this world could contain such a power, this could only be done by the power of World Class Items."

There were only two hundred of these items in YGGDRASIL, and not even Guild Weapons or divine class items could compare to them. The power of World Class Items was such that even controlling the undead — who were immune to mental effects — would be a piece of cake.

Just then, Sasuke thought of the Guardians outside Nazarick, and how they might become targets "my lady, if it really the power of a World Item then shouldn't we call all the guardians together"

"Sasuke right, Albedo increase Nazarick defense to maximum and recall all the Guardians from the outside world immediately. We must verify if they have been controlled like Shalltear. After that guide Ainz and Karna here when they are finished. We need to talk in the Throne Room without delay! After that, we shall proceed... to the Treasury."

'In Nigredo's room, Karna acted a bit strange, could it be that he already knew, no, if did, then he would have said something'

—-

**PRESENT TIME**

"WHAT!?" Ainz and Karna shouted in shock.

'A World Item no way, that impossible!' Ainz panicked.

'…damn it, so I was right, this is bad, really bad, if this really is the case, then the people of this world have the power to harm Nazarick!'

"Albedo where is Jeanne right now!" Karna said/yield.

—"I'm right here"

Everyone's attention was directed at the Jeanne as she walked toward them, right beside her was Obito and the rest of the Uchiha Brothers.

"Jeanne!" Karna ran up to and looked her in the eye "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, however…"

"Is it true, was Shalltear really affected by a World Item?!" Ainz asked.

"There was no doubt, I'd even used a super tier magic like Wish Upon a Star on her" Jeanne answered.

"Then we need to head back to Nazarick right now!" Karna said.

* * *

—Nazarick: entrance to the first floor—

"H-hum, excuse me, the guardians overseer Albedo had ordered us to guard the first, second and third floor" Mare said in a shy but very serious tone.

Cocytus slam the tip of this axe into the ground which caused a slight Yelp from the servant in front of him and Mare "Nazarick is currently following a top alter protocall, let used this situation to prove to the supreme beings that we are completely loyal to them!"

Walking the hallway of the first floor was the Archdevil himself, Demiurge was sporting a very serious expression and he kept his fast past walk. Though one probably could not tell because of his glasses but Demiurge seem to be glaring at something.

'The all powerful one created us to do their bidding, if anyone failed to meet their expectations, then there is no purpose for their existence, and they should be eliminated at once!'

**—Hey guys, thank you for reading my fanfic and I really really want to thank everyone who commented and gave me feedback on what or where i should take this story.**

**So i want to ask you guy to give me your thought. Which Character should i make fight Shalltear.**

**pls don't say Ainz (go watch the anime for that) it between Jeanne and Karna, which one?**


	11. Chapter 6 - part 3: Confrontation

**—****Hey guys this chapter was kinda rush ok so forgive any problems. One of my Family member is at risk of dying so i will be attending to that problem... But i still want to have the chapter out for u guys, this chapter has been my only stress reliever for the past few days now... sorry for any problem...**

After teleporting into the Treasury, the first thing everyone saw was countless lights glittering in the air, like stars in the sky.

The ceiling was so high that one would have to strain to see its heights, and its walls were so broad that they exceeded the range of one's vision. The vast room they defined was filled with dazzling treasures.

In the center of the room was a heaping pile of gold coins and gems, so immense that it resembled a mountain range. Even the amount which could be seen to be counted was but a tiny fraction of the actual sum. In addition, there were masterfully made works of art buried in the mountain of gold.

A quick glance revealed a golden mug, a scepter encrusted with all manner of gemstones, a crystal pitcher, an animal pelt which emitted a platinum radiance, an exquisitely woven tapestry made with thread-of-gold, a pearl-colored ocarina, a fan made of rainbow-colored feathers, a mask made from animal hide, and many, many more.

Needless to say, they were but the tip of the iceberg.

There were hundreds more such articles buried within that gigantic heap of riches. As the NPC beheld this literal mountain of treasure, The three supreme beings could hear whispered gasps of awe from them. It would seem the voices came from four people.

Sixty six percent, huh...

Ainz looked behind him, at the four NPC who were waiting for their orders.

Albedo had shed her armor and changed back into her white dress. There was a look of genuine admiration on her beautiful face as she looked around her surroundings. A similar expression adorned the face of Yuri Alpha, the maid to whom he had given his ring upon returning to Nazarick.

Only two of them was unlike the previous two. That person did not gasp in awe, but instead watched Ainz in silence.

One was Obito the leader of the Uchiha Brothers and the other was a girl with short stature. Her face was a work of sculpted beauty. Only one of her eyes — which radiated a cool glow like a cut emerald — was visible, the other being covered up by an eyepatch. Her strawberry-blonde hair gleamed as it reflected the starlight which shone from the ceiling.

She was a heteromorphic being, of the kind known as Automatons. Her name was CZ2128 Delta, or Shizu for short.

As one of Pleiades Battle Maid, she was dressed similarly to Narberal and Yuri. However, the biggest difference in her outfit from the others was that all her accessories were done up in an urban camouflage pattern, while her skirt had a cute "1-yen" sticker on it. In addition, she had a firearm of some sort at her waist, attached to her belt like a sword.

Incidentally, that magic gun, the Automaton race, and Shizu's job class of Gunner had all been added to the game after the large-scale update called "Valkyrie's Downfall."

Yuri adjusted her lensless black spectacle frames. She seemed unable to abide the mess around her, given her sense of duty as a maid. Then, she asked:

"My Lord, may I ask why are these treasures have not been tidied up? Even if there are protective spells in effect, this is hardly an ideal storage method. You have but to command us and we will immediately begin tidying—"

"Look closely around you one more time yuri." Jeanne said.

Yuri looked around, taking about the time of a single breath, and then she apologized.

"My sincerest apologies. Please forgive my lack of insight my lady."

"It fine. However, the fact is that the items buried within the gold pieces are hardly valuable."

The places where the three supreme beings had looked and where Yuri's eyes had followed were the reason for her apology. There were shelves everywhere, piled all the way up to the ceiling, and the treasures there were more eye-catching than the mountains of gold.

There was a wand socketed with bloodstones, a pair of hihiirokane gauntlets inlaid with garnets, a small silver ring adorned with black diamonds, an obsidian statuette carved in the shape of a dog, a purple amethyst dagger, a miniature altar with countless small white pearls embedded all over it, a peony made from some glass-like material which scattered light in all the colors of the rainbow, a rose blossom which had been masterfully carved from a star ruby, a tapestry which depicted a soaring black dragon, a crown of platinum which held an enormous diamond, golden censers that were encrusted in gemstones, a mated pair of a male and female lion statuettes, carved from ruby and sapphire respectively, cufflinks which looked like flames and which had fire opals set into them, an intricately-carved cigar case made of rosewood, a jacket made of some golden beast's pelt, a dozen plates made of apoitakara, anklets decorated with gemstones of four colors, a grimoire whose cover was made of demantoids, a human-sized statue of a woman which had been carved from gold, a belt with imperial topazes sewn into its material, a chess set whose pieces were all topped in different gemstones, a statuette of a fairy carved from a single piece of emerald, a black cloak that was decorated with countless small gemstones, a drinking horn made from a unicorn's horn, a golden dais that held a crystal ball, and so on.

This was but a fraction of the wonders therein.

In addition, there were many mirrors of blue topaz, red crystals that were the size of a man, a gigantic platinum statue of a warrior, a pillar covered in mysterious characters, as well as a gigantic alexandrite which one would need both arms to fully embrace.

These numberless treasures gave Yuri her answer; which was that there was simply no place to put them.

"Let's go."

The three NPC answered Ainz in the affirmative. Only Shizu remained silent, merely nodding in acknowledgement.

Ainz cast 「Mass Fly」, and then the 7 (that including Ainz) of them took off.

It was then that they realized that a faint purple poisonous gas hung in the air.

Yuri looked around to find the source of the purple gas, but though she looked to the ceiling, the walls, and the corners, she could not pinpoint the source of the purple radiance.

Just as confusion bloomed on Yuri's face, a monotonous voice answered her:

"...Yuri-nee. Powerful magic toxin in the air."

"Eh?"

Yuri's surprising answer was met by a cold, inscrutable look. That look came from Shizu's calm green eye, which was devoid of any emotion.

One would not be able to pick up any emotion from those eyes. Shizu had a beautiful face, but if one were to be ungenerous, one could call it an actor's mask.

After all, Shizu was an automaton. She would not show any emotions — indeed, that was how she had been programmed.

"...Blood of Jormungandr?"

As Obito named that most potent of poisons, Ainz replied:

"Mm, that's correct. I didn't tell you, but the air in the Treasury is toxic. Anyone without poison immunity or items granting it will die within three steps."

"Would that be why you chose me — forgive me, why you chose the four of us to accompany you?"

Indeed it was.

Yuri — who was adjusting her glasses — was a Dullahan, while the stiff-faced Shizu was an Automaton. The two of them were heteromorphic beings who were immune to poison as part of their racial features.

Albedo And Obito were demons and did not naturally possess a resistance to poisons, but they had another way to render themselves immune to them.

"You're right in the reason for which I brought you here… However, I brought Shizu for more than just that; she is also here for verification."

Ainz and his entourage crossed the mountain range of gold with the 「Mass Fly」 spell, and then they came to the door on the other side.

No, was it right to call it a door? It was more of a bottomless black shadow in the shape of a door, affixed to a wall.

As they arrived before this painting-like door, Ainz fell into thought.

"This is the armory, (so what was the password again… dammit Tabula)" Jeanne said the last part in a whisper that could barely be heard by anyone.

"My lady, if there is an armory, does this mean that there are other treasures stored in other locations?"

'...Eh? Does Albedo not know about the interior of the Treasury?' Jeanne thought.

She had no idea why Albedo would have such doubts. However, it was understandable why she would not know about such things. After all, the Treasury did not exist within the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick proper, but could only be reached via the use of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was designed to be very difficult to infiltrate. Thus, it was only natural why Albedo — who had only received the ring ten days ago — would not know of such things.

She had many questions about what exactly the NPCs knew, but after thinking about it, Jeanne dismissed those concerns as trivial, and answered her question.

"Yes. we had a friend called Genjiro. He liked sorting things out neatly, so he should have arranged the items by their intended purpose."

"Is he the Supreme Being who made our comrade Entoma?"

"Yes, that's right, Yuri. However, it seems there was an exception to his orderly tendencies. If he was truly obsessed with cleanliness, then the treasures among the gold pieces should have been tidily arranged as well. One would not want to say that one's room was filthy, after all. Come to think of it, these items should be arranged in order of defensive gear, weapons, jewellery, wondrous items, consumables, crafting supplies, and so on. Also, there's the rooms for the management of Nazarick… and yes, there should be a room for data crystals." Ainz said.

As he chattered on, he pointed to where a two-dimensional shadow now appeared on the wall.

"However, they're all located in the same place inside, and it doesn't really matter which direction you enter from… oh, my apologies. I seem to have said too much."

"Certainly not. I am grateful that you would answer our questions so readily, Ainz-sama."

Obito nodded and the two battle maids bowed in thanks as Albedo made her reply.

'We're almost out of time, what the hell am I doing? It seems like my mouth won't stop whenever I talk about the glories of Nazarick…'

'We all feel the same way too you know'

'Yeah, it's just the three of us now, so it uncommon to reminisce about the good old days, you've practically spend every day in YGGDRASIL Suzuki-kun, so it alright'

Ainz let out a smile and gave a thankyou to his friends, and then looked to the shadow before him.

This was a door which required a certain password to open. Perhaps one could force it open with magic or rogue skills, but Ainz did not know spells like that, not did he or his friends have such skills. Thus, he had to speak the password—

'Hm...crap, I forgot it'

That was only to be expected.

There were so many such gimmicks in Nazarick that he would probably only be able to remember a password if it was one he used frequently. However, given that he did not come to the Treasury often, he did not remember the password to this door.

He had only come here when paying for the upkeep costs of Nazarick with the money he had earned, and that had been years ago.

Since he could not remember the password, Ainz spoke a master password:

"Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown." Karna said in a load strong voice.

In response, the jet-black door displayed a series of words: "Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum."

(Author Note: This is an excerpt from the Emerald Tablet, AKA the Tabula Smaragdina.)

"...Tabula Smaragdina-san really was a perfectionist." Jeanne sigh.

Albedo reacted to those words which Jeanne could not help but mention.

Jeanne thought of one of the people who had designed the tricks and traps used by Ainz Ooal Gown.

He had a hand in designing about twenty percent of the smaller mechanisms throughout the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. His abnormally intricate designs consumed much of Nazarick's free data capacity, which caused the other members to complain about being unable to indulge themselves. Thus, he took responsibility for his actions and paid for many cash items to expand said data capacity.

The three supreme beings studied the words which appeared. This must be a hint for the password, but what could it mean?

They all racked their brains, taking their time to plumb the depths of their mind for the answer.

Soon, Ainz finally found the password, which slumbered within his memories.

"It should be — By this means, you shall acquire all the glory of the whole world, / And so you shall drive away all shadows and blindness — am I correct?"

As Ainz said this, he looked to Shizu with questioning eyes.

Shizu nodded in response to him.

She had been made by one of his friends who had worked on different mechanisms from Tabula Smaragdina. Shizu's backstory had been written so that she would be familiar with the bypassing of Nazarick's mechanisms. This was why she could easily solve that password hint.

However, Ainz had not asked her for help because he wanted to indulge the selfish desire to open the door through his own efforts.

The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had been brought to life when it came to this new world. Therefore, he wanted to be the first to set his feet here, much like how men wanted to leave their footprints on freshly-fallen snow. It was that desire which drove Ainz to open the door on his own.

As though in response to Ainz's wishes, the shadow door collapsed into a single point. Soon, the shadow was gone, leaving a fist-sized sphere of blackness floating in the air.

Now that the shadow had vanished, one could see into the tunnel that had been left behind. This was an orderly place, completely unlike the previous area. The best way to describe it would be something like a display from a museum.

The dimly-lit room was very long and stretched ever inward.

The ceiling was about five meters above the ground, a height which was clearly not designed with humans in mind, while it was about ten meters from one wall to the other.

The ground was made of tightly-fit, shiny black stone blocks, and it looked like a single gigantic stone slab.

Neat rows of countless weapons were arrayed on the walls to Ainz's left and right, making an impressive display.

"We're going in."

Karna and Jeanne entered the Armory without waiting for the others to respond.

What awaited the group were broadswords, greatswords, estocs, flamberges, scimitars, patas, shotels, kukris, claymores, short swords, sword breakers...

Of course, swords were not the only weapons here. There were one-handed axes, two-handed axes, one-handed bludgeons, javelins, bows, crossbows...

Just the types alone were almost uncountable.

In addition, there were many unrealistic weapons here that stretched the definition of actually being called weapons. Those were the kind that could not possibly be sheathed, or which were more decorative than useful, and so on. No, these weapons were in the majority.

Almost none of them were made of anything as ordinary as mere steel.

There was a sword with a blade of blue crystal, a pure-white sword with gold inlays and engravings, a black sword with purple runes along its body, and even a bow that seemed to have been strung with pure light.

Then there were other weapons that looked dangerous even at a glance.

There was a two-handed axe whose blade constantly dripped fresh blood. Tormented faces appeared and vanished on the black metal of a gigantic mace. There was a lance that resembled human hands clasping each other. And then there were many more weapons like these, in amounts which defied easy counting.

One could guess that most of them were magic weapons, but the exact effect each of them had was a mystery. One might be able to guess at the purpose of a sword whose blade flickered like a flame, but it was impossible to know the abilities of a sword whose blade looked like a whip and which wriggled like a centipede.

``wow, we really have a hoarding problem didn't we?' Karna said.

'So that where Suzuki-kun got his hoarding problem from'

'Hey!'

The group looked at these weapons on either side as they silently walked through the Armory. Before long — about a hundred meters and thousands of weapons later — they reached their destination, which was a rectangular room.

It might have been used to receive guests, since there was a table and sofa set in the middle of the otherwise-empty room. There were other passages visible to the left and right which looked similar to the one through which they—(our three Protagonist and the NPC)— had entered.

There was only one route which led further on, in contrast to the way they had entered. The atmosphere of that way was also dramatically different. If the previous room had been like a museum, then the next one was like a tomb.

The height of the room was about the same as the previous one, but the dim interior extended further in. It was hard to tell due to the angles, but it looked like there was a large niche set into the wall, with something placed within it.

After hearing the sounds of surprise from behind him, Ainz said:

"Within lies the Mausoleum." Ainz said without addressing anyone in particular.

"The Mausoleum?"

"Hm? Albedo… do you not know the name of that room?"

'Well, you did pick that name yourself… Albedo might not even know the name of the Treasury's Guardian…' Karna said.

"Then, do you know of Pandora's Actor?" Ainz asked.

"Yes, I do. As the Guardian Overseer, I am aware of his name and appearance… Pandora's Actor is the Area Guardian of the Treasury, and his abilities are on par with myself and Demiurge. Other than managing the Treasury, his purpose is also to prepare the currency needed to activate Nazarick's defense network. In other words, he is a treasurer."

"That's pretty much it. However, that is not all. That fellow—"

Before Ainz could finish, he was interrupted — the four NPCs turned to look at one of the other passages and saw an entity there.

That being had a bizarre appearance.

While it had a man's body, its head was that of a distorted squid. The right side of its head was half-covered in a twisted, tattooed letters, which resembled the ones that had floated up on the door just now.

Its skin was like that of a corpse, with purple blotches amidst a ghastly white color, and it was covered in some sort of sticky slime that gave off a bizarre sheen. Webs of skin grew between the long digits of its four-fingered hands.

Its body was covered in a shiny, form-fitting black leather outfit studded with silver jewelry. Several belts wrapped around it. Its black cape was closed in front of it, as if to conceal its body.

It was the very picture of a heteromorphic character. The six twitching tentacles which sprouted from its mouth dangled down to its thighs, and it turned its cloudy blue pupil-less eyes to survey the group.

Albedo cried out in surprise:

"Lord Tabula Smaragdina!"

This was one of the Forty One Supreme Beings. As a magic caster, he was superior to Ainz in terms of attack power.

"No, that's not him!" she immediately continued.

The two maids watched Albedo's reaction and swiftly moved into action.

Shizu drew her gun and braced its stock against her shoulder, levelling her muzzle at the person before her.

Yuri clenched her fists in front of her chest, and punched her gauntlets together, which made a sound like a ringing gong.

Obito remain still but attracted his Sharingan.

Then, yuri slide next to Albedo's side, in front of the three supreme beings and Shizu. All three of the supreme beings were magic caster while Shizu was a gunner, neither of whom did well in close combat except for Karna and Jeanne but they mostly fight in mid to long range. Thus, this was the ideal position for her to be in order to cover for all of them.

"Who are you!? Even if you disguise yourself and your presence as a Supreme Being, I would not mistake my own creator and master for anyone else!"

The mysterious being who looked like Tabula Smaragdina merely inclined its head at Albedo's question, but did not make any reply.

"—Really now. Kill it."

As that cold voice rang forth, the two battle maids hesitated. Though this was an unknown opponent, they were still a little reluctant to attack someone who resembled one of their creators.

Under these circumstances, one could not fault the battle maids. All that could be said was that Albedo's calm judgement was impeccable.

Their top priority was the safety of their ward, the three supreme beings.

Obito held out his arm and stop yuri and shizu hesitant advance. Albedo looked slightly shocked. She glares at Obito and clicked her tongue, just as she was about to charge, a distinctly unhappy Ainz said:

"That's enough. Return to your true form, Pandora's Actor!"

Tabula Smaragdina's body distorted.

In the space of a heartbeat, another heteromorphic being stood where the impostor Tabula Smaragdina had been, though it was something else entirely.

Its face was flat, with no nose or other facial features. Its mouth and eyes were replaced by three empty holes. There were no eyeballs, teeth, or a tongue; just three black holes which looked like they had been drawn on by a child with a black marker.

The white, egg-like head was smooth and shiny, without a single hair to mar its surface.

This strange character — and Narberal — were both Doppelgangers.

His name was Pandora's Actor, and he was a level one hundred NPC personally designed by Ainz and placed in charge of the Treasury. His talents lay in disguise, and he could copy forty five separate forms and even their abilities — though only at eighty percent of the original's potency.

His hat bore the crest of Ainz Ooal Gown, while the uniform he wore was very similar to the uniforms used by Neo-Nazi elite guards during the Euro-Arcology Wars twenty years ago.

After forcefully clicking his heels together, he raised his right hand to his cap in a grossly overacted salute.

"I bid you a fond welcome, my creator, Momonga-sama and the two supreme beings of the glorious Nazarick!"

'...'

Karna could feel he was about to burst with laughter, covered his mouth '...what the hell Ainz…'

"...You seem quite lively."

"Indeed! I am bursting with energy every day! Speaking of which, may I know the purpose for which you have come? And to think you would have in your train these fair maidens, the Guardian Overseer and the Pleiades Battle Maids, and the great lady Jeanne herself!"

Yuri and Albedo returned to their positions behind Ainz after the Area Guardian revealed himself, although the four of them had different looks on their faces.

Jeanne slightly laugh and pay it no heed.

However Yuri — who took pride in her position as one of the Pleiades — adjusted her glasses and seemed displeased at being called a "fair maiden." She looked as though she wanted to say something, though ultimately she did not.

Albedo, who stood beside Ainz, seemed to be jealous of the fact that Pandora's Actor had been created by Ainz and pursed her lips where Ainz could not see her.

Shizu and Obito, on the other hand, showed no change in their expression and simply returned their weapon to its place.

"We will be going into the innermost vaults to retrieve World Class Items." Karna said.

"Of what do you speak!? Has the time come to unleash their power!?"

Pandora's Actor put on an exaggerated look of shock. This act made Ainz furrow his nonexistent eyebrows and Karna to sigh.

His clothes were one thing, but why did he have to overreact to everything? No, Ainz knew the answer to that.

Ainz was the creator of Pandora's Actor; in other words, his every move and gesture existed because Ainz thought they were stylish. Thus, he had happily worked them into the character design.

"...Ugh, this is really…"

In the past, he had thought of military uniforms as being very cool, and he believed that actors ought to be dramatic, but watching someone as intelligent like him make such showy motions was—

'Uwah~ how lame~'

Karna who was still trying to suppress his laughter said 'I'd needed to ask…hehe... what the hell was going through that skull of yours when you decided to make him!?' Karna said.

"...Chunibyo… it happens it okay Suzuki-kun" Jeanne said in the hopes of trying to cheer her friend up.

"...Damnit"

Those quiet words slipped free of Ainz's heart, so softly that nobody heard.

This was his black history.

His living, breathing black history (Pandora's Actor).

Calming down from his suppressed laughter Karna said "Ahem!... Pandora Actor, we intend to withdraw 「Avarice and Generosity」, 「Hygieia's Chalice」, 「Billion Blades」, and 「Depiction of Nature and Society」."

"...And what of the other two?" Pandora asked

"Leave them. They're one-use items. The fact that they're so powerful means you have to think about the right time and place to use them. Then, there's also the matter of how to recover the items to use them again." Karna answered.

"Indeed, it is so. For these legendary treasures, so mighty and potent that they are worthy of being called trump cards, which can make the impossible possible, or even change the face of the entire world—"

"—Pandora's Actor, I'd like to test your knowledge; there are two hundred World Class Items, but how many of them are you familiar with?" Ainz asked.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I only know of eleven of them."

Ainz nodded in acknowledgement. Those were the World Class Items which Ainz Ooal Gown possessed. He did not know that there was one more, 「Atlas」, which had been stolen from them. In other words, he had learned that the NPCs' knowledge was affected by their settings, but they could ignore any contradictions in their backstories.

Ainz and friends had observed the NPCs for several days now. They had learned that the NPCs seemed to take after his former guildmates in the parts of their personalities which were not covered by their character details, as well as in interpersonal relationships with other NPCs. For instance, the relationship between Shalltear and Aura, or that between Demiurge and Sebas.

Ainz smiled, though his expression did not change.

So basically, they're like everyone's children.

It felt like his friends from the past were by his side once more. It gladdened Ainz's heart, but at the same time he felt terribly alone.

Ainz shook his head to disperse his hurt feelings.

"Is that so, Pandora's Actor? I seem to have asked you a pointless question."

"Certainly not; I must tender my sincerest apologies for my lack of knowledge."

With that, he bowed. Every move he made was exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous.

"...Never mind. I will be heading to the Mausoleum soon. Has anything happened here?"

"Of course not, everything within this domain is the sole property of yourself and all your colleagues, Momonga-sama. How could anything happen?"

With a theatrical flourish, he gestured all around him.

"Although, it is with a heavy heart that I confess that I was hoping you intended to make use of my abilities, Momonga-sama."

Ainz paused, and began sizing up this heteromorphic creature.

He was right; at one point Ainz had indeed intended to make use of him. Pandora's Actor possessed wit and cunning that ranked among the pinnacle of Nazarick's denizens. While he usually applied said intelligence toward strange purposes, it was very difficult to cast aside his wisdom during times of great need.

In addition, Pandora's Actor possessed very flexible abilities, to the point where he could replace all the other Guardians.

However, Ainz had not made him for combat or administrative duties, but to preserve the forms of "Ainz Ooal Gown" and the memories of his comrades.

"...You are my final ace in the hole, so I do not intend to use you for petty tasks."

"...I am truly grateful for that."

With a look on his face which suggested that he was hesitant to speak (probably), Pandora's Actor once more took a deep bow.

"Understood. Then, I shall continue to manage the Treasury from now on."

"Mm, make me proud. Also, from now onwards, call me Ainz, Ainz Ooal Gown."

"Ohhhh! I hear and obey, my creator, Ainz-sama!"

After Pandora's Actor saluted him, Ainz turned away, as if to show that the conversation was over. Just then, a voice came from behind him.

"However, Ainz-sama; though this might offend you, I submit that since a situation has arisen that requires the use of World Class Items, it might be better for you to permit me to leave the Treasury and move around on other floors."

"..."

'He does have a point' Karna said.

Pandora's Actor was a treasure, but it would be foolish to lose more important treasures because all he did was display him rather than use him. Now was the time to deploy of him, given that this was an emergency situation, and he also had to move the Treasury's gold to the Throne Room.

After making his decision, Ainz turned around, just in time to see Pandora's Actor placing a hand on his chest, as if to recommend himself.

Ainz also heard a quiet "uwah~" from the otherwise expressionless Shizu.

That sound carved a grievous wound into Ainz soul — although his emotional suppression immediately calmed him down.

Pandora's Actor was indeed far too dramatic, and it made his creator (Ainz) think that every single movement he made was designed to scream "I am cool."

Perhaps such actions would fit him if he was a handsome man, but instead he was an egghead, which made them terribly unfitting. It even made Ainz feel uneasy when he saw him.

Ainz quietly studied Pandora's Actor for a while, and then he plucked a ring from his pocket dimension and tossed it to him.

The ring traced an arc through the air, landing neatly in the hand of Pandora's Actor.

"This… is the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, and it possesses the ability to..."

Ainz held up a hand, as though to tell Pandora's Actor not to go on. Although he seemed quite disappointed, Ainz decided to pay him no heed.

"This is just in case. Albedo, inform the vassals of Nazarick about Pandora's Actor. Before that, you are only to travel between the Throne Room and the Treasury, Pandora's Actor."

"Understood."

The two of them responded at the same time, but Pandora's Actor clicked his heels together with great force, tossing out his arm which was straightened all the way to the tips of his fingers and saluted with great pomp and circumstance… or to put it less kindly, he was hamming it up.

Ainz looked at his egghead, and gently shook his head.

He was not a bad sort, and he was quite capable, but regretfully—

"Uwah~"

'Why did I designed him with such a personality? I used to think this sort of thing was so cool. No, actually, I still think his uniform is kind of cool…'

If Ainz could have blushed, his face would be bright red.

'Are you kidding me! That's what you call cool!'

'Shut up!'

'Hahaha AHHA'

'Alright that enough now Karna-kun'

"...Oi, Pandora's Actor."

Ainz grabbed Pandora's Actor by the shoulders and pulled him aside, as if to say, Come with me. Of course, he told his friends and Albedo and the maids to stay where they were.

"I have an important question for you. I am your creator, and the one you are loyal to, right?"

"Indubitably so, Ainz-sama! For as I was made by you, if you desire me to do battle with the other Supreme Beings, I shall charge into the fray without hesitation!"

"I see… then, I have a request for you as a human being… no, a man… no, as your creator… Could you please not salute any more?"

Pandora's Actor locked his vacant eyes with Ainz own, his confusion at Ainz's words evident within them.

"Er, that… how shall I put it, your saluting is pretty weird, so please don't salute any more… As for your uniform, it makes you look very strong, so we'll leave that be… but please, really, don't salute any more."

"Wenn es meines Gottes Wille!"— (If this is my God's will!)

"Is that German?! Don't speak like that either. No, you may use it if you please, but just not in front of me. I'm begging you."

"Y-Yes…"

This was the first time Pandora's Actor had such a look of shock on his face, and his answer seemed a little strange. After realizing their faces were close enough for a kiss, Ainz backed off and asked weakly:

"Please, I'm begging you. I didn't think my emotion override would trigger over something like this. It's worse than riding a giant hamster… I can hardly believe it myself. Although I'd like to discuss the matter in greater detail, the situation is quite urgent, so we'll leave it at this for now."

"Then, there's something which has to be done before entering the Mausoleum. Albedo, leave the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown which I gave you with Pandora's Actor."

Ainz explained the reason for that to a confused Albedo.

"This is the final trap emplaced here; the Avataras within are programmed to attack anyone with a Ring, even if that person is you or me."

"I see… intruders would use the Ring to get here. Thus, they would trigger that final trap."

"Evil, don't you think?"

"Of, of course not!"

Albedo reluctantly plucked the Ring from her left ring finger, folding it into a silk handkerchief before handing it to Pandora's Actor. As he saw this, Ainz removed his ring as well, and placed it into a box that he had produced from thin air.

"Ah!" Ainz exclaimed. He seemed to have thought of something. He placed the ring with the box which contained all the other rings that he had not yet decided to gift to people.

This was because he would still be considered to have the ring on even if it were in his pocket dimension, which would result in the Avataras attacking him if he entered the Mausoleum.

"Albedo-sama… could you please let go?"

As he heard that vaguely annoyed voice, Ainz turned to see Albedo and Pandora's Actor playing tug-of-war with the silk handkerchief.

"My, my precious…"

"Ainz-sama said so, didn't he? If you wear the Ring, you'll be attacked. It's just taking it off for a while…"

"What are you saying? This is the Ring which Ainz-sama gave me! How could I—!"

"...Albedo, there's no time for this. If you're unwilling to leave it with him, then I shall—" before Karna could go any further, Albedo interrupted him.

"My apologies, I'm ready now!"

Albedo suddenly let go, making Pandora's Actor lose his balance and stumble back with a cry.

"Is that so… then enter. Pandora's Actor, you will direct Yuri and Shizu to move some of the treasure to the Throne Room… Though it might be troublesome, be considerate of Albedo and do not use her Ring. Instead, use the one I gave you."

"Thank you very much, Ainz-sama! I cannot bear the thought of others using the Ring that you personally gifted to me. But — Of — Course — since this is an emergency, it is not that I am truly unwilling. I just wish to let you know how much I value that ring, Ainz-sama, although I am sure that you already know that even without the need for me to—"

"—Understood! ...Then, who shall stay here and receive Ainz-sama when he returns?"

A look that ill-fitted an elegant beauty crossed Albedo's face as Pandora's Actor interrupted her self-promotion. Ainz decided to look away from Albedo in that state, so as not to mar the image of the beautiful maiden in his mind.

"We should be some time. I will notify you with a 「Message」 and you can return to us then. After all, we cannot leave this place without a Ring."

"Understood."

Ainz, Karna, Jeanne alone with Albedo and Obito entered the Mausoleum, under the eyes of Pandora's Actor and the two maids.

This dimly-lit place was deathly silent, and it seemed like a suitable place for the spirits of the departed to rest. Ainz felt somewhat guilty about breaking the silence here, but nevertheless, he opened his mouth and asked the person travelling beside him:

"That's right, Albedo, Obito: what do you know about World Class Items?"

"From what I can tell, they are the most valuable treasures that the Supreme Beings have collected. They are deeply cherished and one of them is in my possession… but that is all."

"Same my lord, these are the treasure of the supreme ones which they have spent countless time acquiring through their glorious adventures, I have heard that some of them are so powerful, they are able to change the fundamental laws of reality itself"

"I see. Then, on some other day, I shall commit what I know about the World Class Items to paper. It will be safer to let more people know about that information. Before that, however, I shall inform you about these dangerous items."

Ainz began talking about them as he walked.

World Class Items.

These items were closely linked to the game world of YGGDRASIL.

The World Tree Yggdrasil had countless leaves, but then a gigantic monster appeared which devoured these leaves, causing them to fall one after the other, until only nine were left. These nine leaves were the previous incarnations of the Nine Worlds: Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim.

However, that leaf-eating monster continued its advance on those nine remaining leaves. This was the backstory upon which the players adventured into unknown worlds in order to protect their own world.

What did those World Class Items represent? They were equivalent to those other leaves — in other words, a single World Class Item represented a world. Thus, the basic design principle of World Class Items was that they possessed enormous power, and indeed, many World Class Items were extremely powerful.

Many players had even expressed the opinion that these items were too imbalanced, but the developers simply replied, "The possibilities of the world are not that small," and showed no intention of changing these balance breakers.

The developers seemed to have a soft spot for the word "World," and so any class or monster with "World" in its name was usually much stronger than normal.

To the developers, the incredibly powerful last boss of the main campaign storyline — known as the "World Eater" — was the signature World Class Enemy. In addition, only the winners of a tournament held in each world could become a "World Champion."

Just as Ainz got to that part, the five of them arrived at two neatly flanking rows of niches, each filled with a statue dressed in battle gear.

This place resembled the Lemegeton, down to its magic arrays and the mood in the air. However, while the Demons of the Lemegeton were not armed, all the statues here sported incredibly powerful gear, and their potency rivalled Ainz's primary battle equipment.

"The supreme beings?" Obito said in wonders.

"Ai-Ainz-sama, are these statues made in imitation of the Supreme Beings…" Albedo asked as she looked all around her.

"So you noticed. That's right — the Avataras are statues made in the image of my former comrades. Still… while you can tell they're very strong, they look ugly, don't they? I don't think I managed to capture even ten percent of their coolness…"

"As one who was created by the Supreme Beings, there is no way I could not notice."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, just so. However, Ainz-sama… from the name of this place, and these statues… Could it be that the other Supreme Beings have passed away?"

The three remaining members of the unconquerable dungeon of Nazarick stop in track as Albedo asked her question. Memory of the past filled their head and the glorious days of Ainz Ooal Gown came back. It filled them with joy for a split second but sadness and sorrow was all that remain.

"Well as far as we know, they are still alive..." Karna said solemnly.

No, perhaps that was the right answer.

'Damn, I don't know why I'd said that to her'

Ainz and Jeanne remain silent as they looked at the statue of their former friends and guild mates.

Albedo had no idea what to make of their silence, and a look of unease spread over her face.

"My lord, are you alright" Obito spoke.

Ainz turned to them and saw Albedo face, no man could possibly be unmoved by a sad look on a world class beauty like her. In addition, she was the loving handiwork of one of their past comrades. Though Ainz was undead, his heart still filled up with guilt and anxiety.

However, Ainz had never had a girlfriend, or even friends in real life, so he had no idea what he could say to comfort her or show sympathy. Panicking, Ainz looked desperately around, trying to think of something to say.

Just then, Ainz noticed something, and he reflexively spoke.

"I'm fine Obito, do you see, those four empty spaces?"

After making sure that Albedo and Obito eyes were turned in that direction, Ainz explained why there were no statues in there.

"I shall put my own Avatara in one of these niches."

'Ainz you idiot…' Karna face palmed 'here it come'

"Please don't — please do not say that!"

With Albedo sudden outbursts, Ainz hurriedly turned to look at Albedo, an even more powerful sense of surprise assaulted him. Albedo's eyes brimmed with tears, and it seemed like they would flow freely if she just blinked a little.

"...Ainz-sama. Our merciful, compassionate master Ainz-sama, one of three remaining Supreme Beings who stayed with us to the end, the one to whom we owe our ultimate loyalty — please do not say that. It is my sincerest wish that you will be our lord and master for all eternity!"

"Please my lord, please do not leave us!" Obito said.

Albedo And Obito fell to their knees before the three supreme beings.

Each of their voice was choked as Albedo hoarsely repeated "Please… please." It sounded like a prayer and a cry of pain — as though she were coughing up blood — at the same time.

Ainz had never seen anyone plead so earnestly in the course of his entire life.

He had not expected his jest to have such an effect on Albedo, and Ainz was filled with guilt as he reached down to help up the kneeling Albedo.

"Forgive me."

After helping her up, Ainz saw that Albedo's face was streaked with tears, and her eyes were still moist.

Ainz produced a handkerchief, and clumsily tried to wipe away her tears.

"..."

He wanted to apologize again — but in the end he said nothing, for want of suitable words.

He lacked experience with interpersonal relationships, and did not know how to comfort her and stop her tears.

At her wit's end, the sniffling Albedo pleaded with Ainz:

"Please My lord, p-please promise me, promise me you will not abandon us and leave!"

"...I'm sorry, but…"

Ainz could not continue after the "but." That was because he had thought of something, but Albedo seemed to have assumed his silence was due to another reason.

"Why? Why can't you promise me that? Were you planning on abandoning us as well? Why? What has displeased you!? All you need to do is explain and I will correct myself immediately! If you consider me a hindrance, then I shall end my life on the spot!"

"Albedo!" Jeanne suddenly said. Albedo's shoulders lurched in slight shock.

"listen to me, currently… there is no way to save Shalltear. The mind control in effect on her is most definitely the effect of a World Class Item. The only way to protect against the effects of a World Class Item is to have a World Class Item yourself, or a special class."

Jeanne walked over place her hand on Albedo's head though she were a child. She sniffled, and then asked:

"So, so the reason you, you came here was, to withdraw a World Class Item?"

"Correct. we wanted the Guardians to have World Class Items of their own. The fact is, one could probably undo Shalltear's mind control with a similar World Class Item, but I don't know if I should use the World Class Items within… what a heartless master I am. To think I would actually value a measly little item over one of our loyal subordinates."

"That, that's not true! The World Class items were gathered through the efforts of the Supreme Beings, and so they are more valuable than we are!" Obito said.

"...Really now?" Karna asked.

If they were in the game, they would agree with him, though part of them would feel otherwise.

However, under these circumstances, the fact was that they could not bring themselves to use these trump cards.

Among all the balance-breaking World Class Items, there were twenty items known as "The Twenty." The Twenty possessed unparallelled power.

There was a famous item among the Twenty called 「Longinus」, which could completely delete its target, but the price the user paid for that was to be utterly deleted himself. But the ultimate World class item that was even more feared among players than 「Longinus」itself was「La Pucelle」. This World Item is an Item that was capable of locking on the user target and no matter it is, Magic Item, Building, Monsters, Players, this World Item could completely destroyed it. Their were no known method of stopping this attack, it was rumored among the players of YGGDRASIL that this item could destroy other World Item but it was just rumored. The only downside to this is that it will turned it user to a level one player with all level one stats, it was said that who ever use this item will have a harder time gaining back those scarified EXP.

Bottom line is, there was no way to restore the data of anyone deleted by these two World Class item, other than by using the resurrection powers of other World Class Items. Neither cash items or resurrection spells would work. If someone were to use it on an NPC of Nazarick, it would even reduce the maximum levels of NPCs which could be created — the special feature of a guild homebase.

They recalled several other equally insane items.

There was 「Ahura Mazda」, which had a potent effect on anything with a negative karma value, and its area of effect could span an entire world.

There was 「Five-Element Progression」, which could request the YGGDRASIL developers to change part of the magic system.

There was also 「Ouroboros」, which could request a more far-reaching change to the system than 「Five-Element Progression」.

Then, there was the most powerful World Class Item, it was known as the most powerful because just about any high level player could use it, this World Item is the「World Savior」. Normally, it only had the power of an ordinary club, but it could grow in strength without limit. A single enemy with this item could conquer the whole of Nazarick, even at the height of its power with all its members present.

The items known as the Twenty were so powerful that they would vanish after being used once, which was why none of them could bear to use them lightly, but instead treated them as trump cards.

Ainz Ooal Gown proudly boasted possession of eleven World Item including three of the Twenty. They would only be used against enemies of incredible power, because only items of matching power could rival them.

In addition, it was one thing if they simply vanished after use.

However, what if they fell into someone else's hands after vanishing? What if they fell into the hands of Nazarick's enemies?

Nazarick was protected by World Class Items, so the interior should not be affected, but if things went poorly, the enemy might be able to lay siege to the entrance.

Therefore, they had to find some other way to save Shalltear, without using World Class Items.

"Albedo, I am grateful for your words. I shall now tell you the reason why I was silent just now."

His body still felt like the human it had once been. Ainz took a deep breath, like he had while he was alive, because he knew how important the words that came next would be.

"I intend to challenge Shalltear to a one-on-one battle. Therefore… I am unsure if I can return alive."

"—I understand that we must do battle with Shalltear, because leaving her be is the worst possible option!"

Ainz nodded in his heart.

He did not know why the enemy had not given Shalltear any orders, but once they did, the situation would become dire, because everything about Nazarick might end up being exposed.

"Still, why must it be a one-on-one fight? Can we not win by numbers? Are we unable to help you, with all three of the Supreme Beings and all of Nazarick forces we—?"

As he wiped away Albedo's freshly-shed tears, Ainz answered:

"It is not that, Albedo. I trust you. It's just that… well, there are three reasons. The first… is because I doubt my own suitability as your master."

"How can you say that, Ainz-sama!?" Obito said.

Ainz raised his hand to interrupt him.

"...Since I considered the possibility of players existing, I should have also thought of the existence of World Class Items. Therefore, I wonder if such a slow-thinking person as myself has any value as a ruler, and if I am qualified to lead everyone."

"Your presence alone is value enough, Ainz-sama! If there is any inadequacy, we will assist you with all our strength!" Obito said.

"Thank you, but the person most responsible for this incident is myself."

'Ainz, it not just all on you' Karna sigh.

If this world truly possessed a 「Longinus」, then it was possible that all the Guardians might be eradicated for the price of a villager's life. It was quite bad that Shalltear had been mind controlled, but when one was aware of that aforementioned danger, they had gotten off remarkably lightly.

"And so you intend to atone for your sins by fighting Shalltear in single combat… but who could possibly punish you, Ainz-sama, one of the highest rulers of Nazarick?" Obito said.

"That's not all. This is the second reason… the fact that Shalltear is alone. It might well be a trap — indeed, it could be a fatal trap."

As he saw the puzzled expression on both Albedo and Obito face (he can't see it but he could feel it) , Ainz continued speaking:

"We — Ainz Ooal Gown — often used PK methods similar to how Shalltear is now. We would use one of our members as bait and then hunt down any prey who got hooked. Of course, there was a high chance of the bait being killed, but in exchange, we would make sure any enemies who attacked were wiped out."

"If that's the case, Ainz-sama!"

"Wait a minute Albedo, I'm not finished. Do you know what we feared most whenever we set a trap like this?"

Without waiting for a reply, Ainz proceeded to answer his own question.

"That would be the number of attackers being less than the number of people used as bait. The less people we hooked, the more we had to worry about enemy ambushers turning the trap against us."

After he saw the understanding dawn in Albedo's bloodshot eyes, the unbreathing Ainz exhaled anyway.

"And the last reason is because Shalltear has to die."

"In that case, let me go! I am the most suitable for the task, since I have a World Class Item of my own."

"... Are you sure you can win? Don't lie to me — tell me your odds of victory."

Albedo bit her lip under Ainz's calm gaze.

"Then let me go my lord! I am the most suitable for the task, since I have a higher stats than her I can easily win!" Obito said.

"I cannot bear to see you fight each other" Ainz word shock the two NPC.

'This to much responsibility, even for you Ainz-kun' Jeanne thought.

"Because of that… I must be the one to challenge Shalltear in a one-on-one fight and win."

Karna sigh and looked over at Jeanne. His and Jeanne eyes met each other and without any words passing from their mouths or thought, they both nodded in agreement and continue to listen.

"Well, about that… perhaps you could defeat her in your full equipment, but…"

Ainz sported a full set of divine class items and all sorts of cash items, while Shalltear only had a single divine class item, her Spuit Lance. Ainz had a massive advantage in terms of equipment quality. However, what Albedo had left unsaid was the reason why Ainz's chances of victory were slim.

Ainz was fully aware of that reason as well.

It was because Shalltear Bloodfallen was the nemesis of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz roleplayed an undead magician, and his character build focused on necromancer-type classes.

In other words, his character had been built for entertainment.

Shalltear, on the other hand, had been made with an optimized build. In addition, Shalltear's divine magic caster classes could use many spells which were very effective on the undead, and she was adept at melee combat.

These two reasons were bad enough, and on top of that, the necromantic spells Ainz favored did not work well on Shalltear.

Ainz could not use his specialty against Shalltear, and Shalltear had an advantage when fighting the undead.

In addition, Ainz typically did not equip his best items because he feared that they would be stolen away. Thus, when they clashed, Ainz's chances would be very low. Worse, he might not have a chance at all.

"So you're saying that the circumstances don't favor me?"

Ainz had the right of it. Albedo lowered her head.

That might be the case, Ainz agreed. He should not be able to beat Shalltear.

Still—

Karna smiled, this was the perfect time to interrupt 'You see Albedo the title of Supreme Beings of Nazarick is not for just for show".

"—There is nothing wrong with your thinking, but it is in error. After all, you only possess the knowledge has been infused into you." Jeanne said.

Ainz looked at his friends and wonder why they had interrupted him. But all he saw was Karna and Jeanne looked at each other and smiling.

"What does that mean my lord?" Obito asked.

"How experienced are you?" Karna said.

"Experience My lord?"

"Yes, combat experience." Jeanne clarifies.

"Ah! So that's what you meant! Yes, I can make full use of the strength which the Supreme Beings have given me. So I believe it counts as being very experienced." Obito replied and Albedo nodded.

Jeanne shook her head to reject their answer.

"That's not right. Being able to wield power and gained experience are completely different things. Do you remember the large-scale invasion of Nazarick? Are you familiar with Shalltear's memories of fighting players?"

"I did not ask in detail, but she said she vaguely remembered being killed once."

"...Besides that?"

Albedo shook her head to indicate that she did not.

"...Typically, she and Ainz were the ones who handled lone intruders… That stinginess helped quite a lot. That being the case, me and Karna will be the one be the one who goes."

Ainz eyes widen, though he It was impossible because he has no skin or eyes to begin with, the feeling was still there.

"What?!" Ainz all but yield.

"It not that surprising Ainz, out of all of us, me and Jeanne can easily kill Shalltear with no trouble"

"Yes but—"

"It fine Ainz, you've done enough for the guild, we are here too, as members of Ainz Ooal Gown, we too have responsibilities and the Shalltear cases is one of them, beside you are the guild master, and as the guild master it your job to keep the guild up and running right?"

"But Jeanne, that one of the reasons I'm going to begin with—"

"It to prove that your a competent leader right? Well you are already are one Ainz" Karna said, ''Now let us prove that we are competent friends and guild members"

"What if there are others out there who will ambush you guys?"

Jeanne and Karna walk up to Ainz and place their hand on each side of his shoulder "Ainz let us worry about that, you've done enough guild master, it time that you step down and let us carry that weight on your shoulder for you!" they both said.

Ainz emotion suppression was not strong enough to hold back the sheer Joy he was feeling right now. If he could cry and shed tears, it would be purring out of his eyes.

"My friends…"

They smiled along with the NPC behind them 'thank you'

"Albedo, Obito, hear us well, Ainz Ooal Gown does not know defeat, we swear will defeat Shalltear!" Karna said while brimming with confidence 'Peroroncino my friends please forgive me'

"Understood my lord, than I shall no longer stand in your way!"

"Good, now we must prepare, Obito gather all of your brothers and call all of the Trinity Sister to meet us near Shalltear location!"

"Yes my lord!"

A vast, emerald-green world spread before them. Karna looked around, and then chuckled at his post-teleport reflex to check if anyone was around. If there was anyone that Karna needed to look out for, they would have attacked long ago, without giving him the chance to look around.

For security's sake, he along with Jeanne had also chosen to teleport to a point over two kilometers away from Shalltear.

While Obito and his Brothers was out scouting for any enemies ambush and Astil and her sister where covering the area with magic to make it seem that nothing was going on in the forest while Karna and Jeanne prepare for the battle, however even with all of this extra precaution, there was no way to completely guarantee that the World Class Item user who had mind controlled Shalltear was not around. However, in the end, all they could do was try not to worry unnecessarily. As Karna rounded his shoulders in relief, he looked behind, to the eleven people that were behind him.

"Alright, we'll split up here," Karna said as Jeanne, the two dark elf twin, the four Uchiha Brothers and the four Angeloid Sisters nodded.

These NPC were the only ten whom Karna had permitted to walk with him and Jeanne before the impending battle with Shalltear.

Ainz had already ordered those subordinates who had tasks outside back to Nazarick. Apart from ten that was accompanying him and Jeanne now, only Sebas and Solution were still at large.

Karna looked at the two mismatched gauntlets on Mare hands. The right one was fashioned in the shape of an angel's sleek hand and glowed with silver light, but the left one resembled a demon's claw, covered in hooks and spikes. The crimson radiance of magma leaked through the fissures on its surface.

Then, he turned to Aura, and at the large scroll behind her.

"...alright, from here on out, no one will be interfering with our fight with Shalltear, expect for Aura and Mare, you all will spread out and survey the forest and make sure that no one see or interfere in our fight." Karna ordered.

"Understood my lord!" All of the NPC said.

Aura nodded, her face stiff. Mare rushed to lower his head as well. Obito and rest of his brothers and sisters sport very serious face and nodded.

"While everyone else will be surveying the forest, Aura and Mare you two will stay here and keep watch just in case, if anyone see a World Item user retreat back here Immediately!" Karna said.

"Aura, Mare if you two are outnumbered or surrounded before any the others arrive, retreat back to one of the dummies Nazarick Immediately, In addition, the items we have given you are the treasures of Nazarick. You cannot allow them to be taken, no matter what...forgive me for saying this but... In some ways, they can be considered more valuable than you are. Do you understand?" Jeanne exhorted.

"We understand my lady, and please do not worry about us, these treasures were collected by the supreme ones through hard work, so of course theses will be more important than servants like us!" Aura said.

Karna nodded

After hearing Aura replies — a question arose in Karna heart 'In truth, which do I value more, the World Item or the NPC?'

Perhaps he might have been able to conclusively state his answer before coming to this world, but now, he could not.

The results of his guildmates' painstaking and intricate labors were these NPCs, who had the ability to think and feel.

'Because we—no— I'm planning to kill this… this NPC, who's like a child. I'm planning to... kill Peroroncino's daughter…'

Frustration filled Karna heart.

One could also call it a form of guilt.

However—

Karna keen gaze zeroed in on Shalltear's potential location.

"...this is the only way to break the control of a World Class Item." He had spoken those words to convince himself.

After seeing the looks in Aura and Mare and even his and Jeanne NPC eyes, Karna felt that it was not good to worry them further, and changed the subject.

"Even if you say that Aura, I'm not planning on letting any of you die, so Aura, Mare work together with them. Keep an eye on the surroundings."

Karna pointed to the four huge clumps of meat that were leading the way for them.

They were two meters wide and their bodies were pink. However, these monsters had countless cloudy white eyes. It looked as though the eyes from all manners of corpses had been haphazardly stitched together.

These were undead beings made with the 「Create High Tier Undead」 skill, Eyeball Corpses.

Karna had asked Ainz to used his entire day's worth of that skill's uses to make these Eyeball Corpses, because they were the nemesis of stealthy beings, whether they used magic or skills to do so.

Their cloudy eyes were not ornamental, but possessed outstanding perception. Even the specialized ranger Aura could not match them. Although their effective combat level was low, their emphasis was on detection ability and not fighting power, so his aim was to have them support Aura for targeting duties.

"Thank you My lord! However, will they obey my orders?"

"There will be no problems in that respect. I guarantee it. Also, you should link your minds with magic. That way, you can act as a command center and patrol the area in peace."

"Okay! Although it would be faster for me to go myself, we don't know where those guys are. Got it! Then, after Mare uses his stealth-enhancing magic, we'll take these guys and lay low."

"That sounds fine. I'll leave that to you."

"Now...SCATTER!"

—-

The last person to enter the room was Demiurge, who threw himself down on an empty spot next to Albedo. This clearly illustrated his mood, given that he would never act so impolitely under normal circumstances.

"Well, is there an explanation for this?"

Demiurge narrowed his eyes as he directed that intense question to Albedo, seated next to him.

"Why did you agree to this?"

His tone was even, but that was simply a thin veil draped over the surface. Everyone could feel the barbs in his words.

When a typically calm person displayed great emotion, the distance between his usual behavior and the abnormality made that emotion seem even more intense to others. However, this was not quite accurate, because Demiurge was very worked up, and none of his comrades had seen such agitation from him before.

However, in the face of this questioning, filled with hostility — or even killing intent — Albedo remained unmoved.

"This was the supreme ones decision. How can we who just their subordinates oppose—"

"—Why?"

The question interdicted Albedo's reply with the finality of a guillotine's blade.

"Why? When lord Ainz and other supreme beings left for the human city (E-Rantel), you were the one who insisted the most on having a Guardian follow them. How could possibly agree to the same thing now!? You should be worried about our lord safety now, as you were then."

Albedo inclined her head in response, and Demiurge's face visibly contorted.

"Then, I'll ask you again! Why did you permit this!?"

His anger seemed to shake the room. This intensity was completely unlike the Demiurge whom they were familiar with.

Cocytus slowly turned his head, looking at the two people who were opposite of him, they staring each other down. There was worry in Cocytus eyes.

"...Also, you must have known that the supreme ones was lying, right?" Demiurge asked, his voice low and angry.

After Albedo nodded again, Cocytus exhaled sharply. Both of them knew that this clear, high-pitched sound was one which Cocytus made when he was confused.

"..Earlier. You. Said. That. The. Supreme. One. Told. You. Their. Reasons. For. Leaving. Alone. But. Do. You. Not. Find. It. Strange? From. Their. Point. Of. View. A. Sequential. Attack. Would. Be. Safer. We. Could. Attack. In. Waves. And. Wear. Down. Shalltear. HP. And. MP."

"...You're right, Cocytus. There is no way the supreme beings would not be able to think of a strategy that we could easily come up with. In other words, they were deliberately lying, to hide something else."

"What. Reason. Is. That?"

"I have no idea… which is why I'm asking. Since you did not know the reason, why did you let them go alone?"

"Why do you have such doubts in our masters, as a guardian is it not also one of your duty to believe in your master. This is our purpose, as those who were created by them."

Demiurge's eyes went wide, but there were no eyeballs within his eye sockets. Instead, he had gemstones, which lacked pupils or sclera, but which were intricately cut with countless sparkling facets.

Demiurge's mouth had been opening and closing all the time, but now he firmly shut it.

This was because he felt — she might be right.

The NPCs of Nazarick were absolutely loyal to the Forty One Supreme Beings, but the way in which they expressed their devotion varied from person to person. Thus, it was natural that Demiurge and Albedo might have different opinions on how to show their loyalty.

"I have complete faith in our masters victory, but there is always a chance that the one who control Shalltear might ambush them, they are one of the last, once we know their lives are in danger, it is our duty to eliminate that danger even if we know they could handle it themselves, because that is a servant duty, if doing so means we get rebuked for it, and if we should perish by doing so, we should still take action, should we not?"

There was a thumping sound as Demiurge sprang up.

"Where are you going?"

Demiurge's voice was quite calm as he turned to leave.

"Need you ask? Obviously it is to send my minions—"

Demiurge sensed something running toward him and turned to look. He saw Cocytus, brandishing a divine class weapon.

"...I see… So the reason you summoned me here and ordered me to this place was for this, was it not, Albedo?"

"Indeed, Demiurge. The Seventh Floor is already locked down in the names of myself and the supreme beings, and I was given control of all the vassals."

"This is still foolishness! How will you take responsibility if any of the supreme beings are hurt or might perishes? Lord Karna and Lady Jeanne are one of the last three remaining entities to whom we can pledge our loyalty!"

—"that is enough..." a deep and commanding voice rang throughout the room.

The sitting Guardians Immediately stood up but only to kneel again before one their master, the Overlord of death, the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown, and the man once known as Momonga and took now took the name of his guild.

"My lord" the guardians said with a deep bow as they kneel.

"Raise" Ainz simply said as he walked up to the table and shifted his gaze to the 「Crystal Monitor」 within the room. Its surface displayed the form of Karna and Jeanne walking deeper into the forest.

"As Albedo said Demiurge do not worry"

"But my lord, wouldn't it be dangerous to send two of the last three supreme beings who had mercifully stayed with us to battle Shalltear? thoughts I know they could kill Shalltear with absolutely no trouble, there might be the possibility of—"

Ainz cut Demiurge off "you are worried that an outside force might ambush them right? Then do not worry, all of the Trinity Sisters and the Uchiha Brothers are there to prevent such things from happening"

"If that the cause, then why not have any one of your servants there kill Shalltear my lord? anyone of them could very easily do so"

"That is quite easy to answer, it is because none of us want to see the children of our dear friend kill each other..."

Demiurge eyes widen, the present guardians were blown aback by their masters love for them.

"To. Think. That. A. Supreme. Being. Would. Care. For. Us. Like. That…" all of the agree with Cocytus statement.

"My guardians, the one thing you should know is that Ainz Ooal Gown dose not know defeat, now watch as my friends claim absolute victory!"

—-

After parting ways with their creations, Karna and Jeanne walk to Shalltear's location in silent as they mentally prepare to kill one of their friends children.

After passing through the trees, they finally saw Shalltear. She looked completely different from how she had before, like a doll, and it made Jeanne feel sad. At the same time, she was angry at herself, but she was far angrier at the user of that World Class Item.

"Dammit." Karna growled as he took the words right out of Jeanne mouths.

He did not curse loudly, but the intensity of those words implied an anger so powerful that even Karna could not fully suppress it.

"We'd decided to spread the name of Ainz Ooal Gown in order to find our friends. That was the method I selected. Thus, I took action in a low-key manner to avoid pointless conflicts. And yet, why did this happen?"

"Don't blame yourself Karna, no one could've predicted that this would happen, you made all the right choice in your situation" Jeanne said as she grabbed and tightly hold Karna hand.

"The question we should be asking ourselves right now is who were they? Who did they belong to? What did they want? Why had they used a World Class Item on Shalltear?" Jeanne said.

"...No matter who they are, once I learn about them from Shalltear…I will kill them." Karna was shaking in rage.

'You will deeply regret your foolishness. If it is a fight with Ainz Ooal Gown you want, then a fight you shall have.' Karna thought.

After the anger in his heart subsided, Karna frustration slowly ebbed away.

The true battle would begin now, and he had to calm down in order to face it. In this battle they clearly have the advantage but most of Karna and Jeanne offensive attacks were completely unusable. Most of their attack were AOE attack, which mean they affect a large area, using theses attack would end the battle quickly but would attract a lot of unwanted attention.

"The enemy hasn't made a move yet. Up till now, the only thing I can sense are the divination spells from Nazarick… are we even being watched?" Jeanne asked as she tilted her head, unable to make sense of things "Could it be that Shalltear was actually abandoned here by accident?"

"I don't know, but let's end this quickly, I don't want to draw any attention from the one who did this to Shalltear…—'Obito, Astil, report'—"

"My lord, the entire area is completely clear, there is no trace of any living or nonliving thing in the vicinity" Obito said as he and his brothers stood atop the trees.

"There is no one who is watching us with magic either my lord" Astil said as she and her sisters were high above the clouds.

"I see, what about you Aura, Mare?"

"Nothing here my lord, even outside the barrier, I can't sense anyone who is watching or spying on us with magic" Aura said.

"Y-Yes like big sis said, t-there is no one physically near us either…" Mare said.

"Alright that good, but remain vigilant, there might be a spell or skill that only exist here in the new world that could escape our detection, so Astil, you and your sister are responsible for surveillance and Obito and the rest of the Uchiha Brothers will be in charge of making sure nothing interrupts our fights, as for Aura and Mare, you two will continue with your mission" Jeanne said.

"Yes my lady" the NPC all said in unison.

Both Karna and Jeanne eyes were keen as they studied the defenseless Shalltear.

"...Then… let's start!" Karna shouted as he summoned his golden lance. He carefully selected a spell that was not destructive from his repertoire of magic and skills — and activated a skill.

"[Protection of The Holy]!"

Karna body glowed red, and then—

"Hahaha!"

—He laughed, his eyes never leaving Shalltear as he activated his skill. He laughed because of this outcome, and also because he had confirm a theory.

"Exactly as we had expected. As long as they don't consider our actions to be a clear sign of hostility, the NPCs won't even enter combat status! It's just like how it was in the game!" Karna said as Jeanne smiled.

These actions were identical to those of mind-controlled monsters in YGGDRASIL. The fact that the game's logic could be used here slightly improved the massive disadvantage he faced.

"Then if that being the case, I'm sorry about this, Shalltear, but I'll have to ask you to stay that way before the battle starts." Jeanne said.

Because Jeanne could not use the majority of her offensive attack because her build was not a full on fight nor caster, she going to be heavily nerf in this fight, so she continuously cast various spells.

"—「Fly」, 「Bless of Holy Magic Caster」, 「Magic Ward - Negative 」, 「Life Essence」, 「Greater Full Potential」, 「Freedom」, 「False Data - Life」, 「See Through」, 「Greater Negative Resistance」, 「Sensor Boost」, 「Greater Luck」, 「Magic Boost」, 「Heavenly Aura」, 「Absorption」, 「Greater Magic Shield」, 「Mana Essence」... Alright let's do this"

This seemingly endless stream of spells surrounded Jeanne body.

"Then, let go!"

The first thing Jeanne did was to use one of the ultimate moves of magic that was not too destructive but also very powerful, that spells which surpassed the tenth tier of magic.

These spells were known as super tier magic—

From the perspective of the tiers of magic, spells of this level could be considered spells, and not spells at the same time. To begin with, they did not consume MP, but instead they could only be used a limited number of times per day.

When one first learned them, they could only be used once per day. Every ten levels after level seventy, however, one could use them an additional time per day.

One could learn a single super tier spell per level.

Rather than call them magic, they might be better described as skills.

In other words, the average player could only use four super tier spells per day at level one hundred. One might ask at this point — why not consecutively cast super tier spells to defeat Shalltear? If one could cast super tier spells one after the other, even the damage alone would only be survivable by a vanishingly small fraction of level one hundred players. Shalltear was not among that number, so that would definitely defeat her.

However, she could not do that.

The reason was because super tier magic spells could not be cast one after the other.

To begin with, each super tier spell needed a certain amount of casting time. Cash items could remove that casting time, but another penalty prevented the repeated casting of super tier spells.

Once any member of a team cast a super tier spell, every member would be penalized by being unable to cast such spells for a certain period of time — in other words, a cooldown period.

This restriction was put in place to prevent guild wars from being decided by who could vomit out the most super tier spells. In addition, this cooldown period could not be eliminated by any skill or cash item.

Thus, when PVPing, the party which cast a super tier spell first was often considered an idiot.

After all, defeat was likely when one expended a trump card without properly understanding one's foe. The fact was that there were very few PVP battles where the victors were the first to cast super tier spells.

Yet, Jeanne first move was to cast such a spell.

There was no frustration or confusion on her face.

A gigantic dome-shaped magic circle appeared around Jeanne, extending about ten meters away from her.

The magic circle shone a brilliant white, and translucent diagrams of characters and symbols appeared. These images changed ceaselessly, with kaleidoscopic speed, differing from second to second.

"Once the spell is casted I'll move in Attack Immediately, we have advantages when it comes to numbers and stats but this fight is going to be dragged out really long if all we do is exchange attack, she was designed for that after all, I'll be the front line fighter while you support me from the side and try to make her use up all of her MP and skills, we need to hit her hard and fast and kill her so she will use the resurrection item Peroroncino gave her—"

"—Once she does I'll fight her and finish her for good" Jeanne said.

"Then, let's go." Karna said as he ready for an attack "[Delay Skill]—[maximize Skill: Weapon flame burst]" his gold lance burst into crimson flame, this attack is not too destructive but it does deal heavy damage to a Player if hit.

Having steeled their hearts, a look of conviction filled both Karna and Jeanne eyes.

'...forgive us Peroroncino…'

The blue light of the magic circle intensified, indicating that the super tier spell was ready to be cast.

"Super tier magic - 「**Collapsing Heaven**」!"

—**Hey guys DamianTran280 here, I have an announcement to make, I want to thank everyone who commented both negative or positive on this. **

**I have gotten commented that said this is boring and I'm just going off the original but with added character and… your right. BUT after this fight coming up that WILL change. **

**I have a lot of ideas for this story. I'm not good at beginning a story so that why I go off the original but NOW I'm adding NEW events and plots in my story.**

**Has anyone ever heard of Magi… yeah that you know where I'm going with…**

**Oh and don't get mad at me for shelving Ainz go watch the anime for that fight. Speaking of the fight, it is not going to be long at all. This will mainly focus on the other NPC (Obito, Itachi, Shisui, Sasuke, Astil, Jibril, Ikarus, And Nymph) and Ainz and the Guardians commenting on the fight.**

**...Poor Shalltear…. **


	12. Chapter 6 - part 4: The Fight Begins

**Hey guys it me and I'm back with chapter 6 part 4. I hope you all like it and for those of you who are wondering about the Family issue I told you all last chapter... well I'm afraid I cant give you all a good news. The doc said that they have a low chance of recovering and that we should prepare for the worst... this is a really dark time for me guys...**

**WTF am i doing!? Sorry guys I kinda just dump my SH I TT Y life on to you all so sorry.**

**So let move on with the Doom and Gloom and get to the Chapter shall we —ENJOY—**

**—The Fight Begins**

There was the sound of sizzling, as though someone had thrown a burning torch into water.

The spell which surpassed the very definition of tiers went off — the winds picked up and air was scorched hot and was harder to breathe in without damaging the lungs, the clouds gather and swirled around and from the heavens above came down a holy pillar in a shape of a cross and it looked as though the sun had risen on the land, dying everything in their field of view a brilliant gold.

The exothermic conflagration generated a rapidly-expanding wave of heat, which greedily consumed everything within its radius.

This hell yet holy vision lasted only five seconds, but it felt dozens of times longer than that.

Eventually, the brilliant gold world disappeared. In the wake of the vanishing pulse of superhot energy was a large circular area — vastly different from before.

Nothing outside the area of effect was affected. The trees were still trees, the earth was as full of vitality as the forest, and the forest itself was untouched — an extremely normal world.

In contrast, the area within the circular area was charred black, converted into a dead zone of jaw-dropping proportions.

The awe-inspiring temperatures had consumed all the vegetation in the area, leaving alive in its wake. There were several vitrified areas on the ground which were still emitting smoke.

Standing beyond the bounds of that world which permitted no survivors, Jeanne felt a dreadful presence washing out from within.

It came from the only person who remained within that area.

Nothing living could have survived that fatal heat.

"Kakahaaah~ Kahaaaah~ that actually hurt~"

That strange sound, accompanied by what seemed to be a gnashing of teeth, filtered into both Jeanne and Karna ears.

They turned to look at its source, and saw a point of red amidst a world scorched black.

They saw Shalltear with wisps of smoke trailing off her body, and the look on her face which seemed to say, "not enough gun." Her crimson pupils, filled with hostility and bloodlust, focused on the two bodies in front of her.

"Lady Jeanne! That really hurt, oh what this? That isn't really fair that just one of me have to fight the two of you!"

Shalltear slowly walked forward, her footfalls fracturing the charred ground underneath.

Step by step, she shrank the distance between the two players and herself, the Spuit Lance in her hand cutting through the air with a whoosh which indicated that she was still able to fight.

"That was just a meaningless present. Did you like it, Shalltear?" Karna said as he charge toward Shalltear with incredible speed and strength.

"I most certainly did!"

Shalltear raised her lance and the two clash with each other. Karna when on the offensive and prest Shalltear, as their lance clash, Shalltear was being pushed back but she was holding her own because her physical was actually higher than Karna but not by much.

Shalltear laughed, and her mirth came from the bottom of her heart.

"Wonderful! To think I have to kill the two of you, the all-powerful Lord Karna and Lady Jeanne!"

"-Lord, you say. Why do you still address us as lord and lady? Who is your master Shalltear?"

"What a strange question lord. Enemy or not, you two are still Supreme Being, addressing you anything else would be the height of arrogance, as for my present master…"

Shalltear's face scrunched up, as though confused.

"...Why do I have to fight you, a supreme being? ...Ah, is it because they attacked me? But why would they attack me… I need to destroy anyone who attacks me with all my strength? Why is that?"

Before long, Shalltear seemed to have come to a conclusion, and her smile from earlier returned to her face.

"Well, I'm still not too sure why, but since you attacked me, I must destroy the both of you!"

"...Is that so… I finally get what kind of state you're in now..."

"Oho, what's wrong, Lord Karna? You look a little weak there!" Shalltear manage to push back and went on an offensive of her own. As she increased her attack speed, she was able to push Karna back slightly.

"Hmph, aren't you getting something wrong? Do you think someone like you can defeat me? Shalltear, you will kneel in submission before us when the day is done."

"Ahahahaha! Ooooh, how scary~" Shalltear continue to prest her attack 'I may have the advantage in physical attack when fighting lord Karna but I can't win this battle, there is no conceivable way that I can beat both supreme beings, I can't even defeat one of them, i should prest my attack and retreat as soon as possible'

Moving with a speed which put gales to shame, Shalltear charged, wreathed in bloodlust. The scorched ground exploded beneath her feet with every step she took. Clementine's assaults were swift, but Shalltear's speed was in a class of her own.

Trailing laughter behind her, Shalltear continued her charge, aiming the tip of her lance at Karna and thrusting forward. The lance charge was originally a technique used by mounted knights and made with the speed and weight of their mounts behind it. However, Shalltear's strike — made with her extraordinary strength and her awesome speed — easily surpassed that attack.

The word "one-shot kill" could not even begin to describe that assuredly fatal blow, and it tore through the air towards Karna.

However, despite the ever-approaching tip of the lance, Karna remained unmoved and with an almost bored expression on his face.

In a gentle voice, he said:

"It's dangerous, you know."

The tender warning he gave Shalltear, as though concerned for her well-being, referred to the countermeasure he had prepared for Shalltear's attack.

'Now...activate delay skill...'

As Shalltear lance clash with Karna, the delay skill achieved and the「Maximize Skills - Weapon flame burst」 take affect. Karna flaming spear turn even brighter crimson that momentarily binded Shalltear.

A second later the explosions of flame blew Shalltear's body away.

However Karna did not give Shalltear a moment to rebound, his spear was engulfed in flame once again and he threw the spear with full force and at the same time used "「Maximize Magic - Flame missiles」."

She was still flying back from the force of the explosion when Karna spear and a ball of crimson flame appear in Karna open palm, with a force blow from Karna, multiple smaller ball of flame shot toward her like heatseeker. Each of these attack could significantly damage a target, even one of Shalltear's level.

At this moment, Shalltear stood back up from her downed state and held out an empty hand.

"「Twin Maximize Magic: Wall of Stone」."

Two vast wall of stone emerged from the ground, completely enveloping Shalltear.

—However "「Holy Penetration Arrow」" Multiple holy arrows came flying out from behind Karna. The arrows moved faster than Karna previous attacks and hit Shalltear「Wall of Stone」first and completely destroyed both walls. Immediately after the walls destruction, Karna spear and the「Maximize Magic - Flame missiles」hit Shalltear head on.

An explosion went off along with multiple other one "Aahaaaahaaa!" Shalltear scream of pain filled the battle field and shot great pain in Jeanne heart "t-that not fair!" Shalltear quickly recover and stood her ground.

—but—"「Maximize Magic - Holy Sanctuary」!"

As Jeanne followed up with another spell, a massive pillar erupted from the earth and closed in on Shalltear. The holy energy burn the vampire a great deal but she manages to fly out of the pillar of light.

"Kah!" Shalltear gritted her teeth in pain.

Normally, this spell would have continued holding its target after damaging them, but Shalltear shrugged free. This was because she was immune to movement restrictions, resulting in the failure of the attempted restraint but she was not resistant to the after effect of the holy energy.

"Shalltear, did you really think we would make it that easy for you attack?" Karna taunt as his spear returned to his hand.

Shalltear face twisted with anger and slight fear but Karna and Jeanne could sense the fighting spirit she radiated from her entire body.

The real show's about to start.

—-

The tree rusualed as four ninjas jump from tree to tree with their hand bend back and their body leaned forward. Each sported an emotionless face as they keep in perfect formation as they leap from tree to tree.

"Looks like the battle had begun" Shisui said.

"Then we split up from here, Shalltear had to at least be smart enough to realize that there is no way for her to win, so she will most likely retreat" Itachi said as he leaped forward to get next to Obito.

"Then split up and surround her but do not engage unless the supreme one said so and don't let yourself be seen" Obito ordered.

"Understood"

"And if Shalltear try to retreat in your direction, aim to kill, now SCATTER!" The four brothers separated and disappear in the shadows.

Obito leaped up toward the highest tree of the forest "[**Shadow Clone Jutsu**]" from Obito shadow came out an exact copy of Obito "stay here and convey Shalltear and all of our locations to each other so we can keep the formation going"

With that command, Obito leaps away to form the formation with his other brothers.

—-

High above the cloud and within several layers of inviability, defensive, detection and for good measure, Nymph [**Hacking field**] and [**P-Stealth System**].

Nymph Hacking Field has the ability to hack into any systems, it can block or unblock memories and abilities for a short period of time. Her hacking is like a form of telepathy, matter manipulation, Vitakinesis, and more abilities all in one and when combining this with her P-Stealth System which just let her become invisible, she can make others invisible as well.

Nymph was not built to be a fighter unlike her other sisters, however, she had no equal when it came to a supporter build. sits four sisters with all uniquely colored hair and each express a different type of beauty, however the one thing they all have in common was that they were all very beautiful.

"Looks like Obito and the others had made their moves" A voluptuous girl with a perfectly sculpted face that look like a doll with pink hair that fades to dark also black red said.

"I see, thanks Ikarus, do you detect any unomaly, Nymph?" Asked a short stature girl that look no older than 14.

"No not yet Astil, what about you Jibril?" A blue pigtailed haired girl with an equally beautiful sculpture face as Ikarus asked.

"..."

"Hey jibril...jibril?...JIBRIL!" Nymph screamed as her patient was getting thinner.

"Oh, my apology~" Jibril was pink hair angel of a perfect balance of alluring beauty and innocent. She turned her head to look at the youngest sister as she cover her lips with her fingers "do you need something my sweet little sister~"

Nymph puffed out her cheek "you're you just dying to have a fights aren't you?"

"I'm afraid I don't know understand~" Jibril innocent smile never leaves her beautiful face.

"You've been staring at the battle with Shalltear with a sadistic smile on your face, don't think I'd didn't notice that spike in your power"

As the two sisters look intently at each other Astil interrupted "Sisters that enough now, we have orders to obey, so spread out and began to survey the area from the sky!" Astil said "and do not let yourselves be seen and if you do fine intruders, kill them as quickly as possible but you must captured one of them alive, Nymph if you would" Astil asked.

A moment later a barrier that surrounded the Angeloids dissipate as the Sisters went their separate ways.

—-

Shalltear braced the Spuit Lance, narrowing her eyes at the two magic casters before her — at her masters, Karna and Jeanne.

She had no idea why she had to oppose her beloved masters, but her mind told her that it was not an important question. All she had to do was try to kill then and then ponder the matter at length afterwards.

As she calmly considered this, Shalltear considered the current situation — a one on two fight, against the two supreme beings who are the strongest of the 41 — how unfavorable it was for her.

Then, what was the best way for her to fight? It would have to be a drawn-out battle. But can she last? These two were among the strongest in the guild and rank in the high tier of players in YGGDRASIL.

Shalltear gripped her divine class Spuit Lance as she hastily threw a battle plan together.

Her weapon's special ability was to recover the wielder's health in proportion to how much damage it did to an opponent. No, one could say that this divine class item was designed around that special property.

This fight was never in her favor, the only way for her to win is to draw out the battle as long as possible and try to deplete their MP and attack them separately. Though she possessed both negative and holy magic, she could not do much with them. The moment she would attack Jeanne with negative dealing type spell, Karna would jump in and vice versa.

Shalltear gritted her teeth in frustration and cast 「Mana Essence」 as she tenses up her whole body and prepare to either retreat or defend, this was a battle she could not win.

The「Mana Essence」 spell permitted her to perceive her opponent's mana for a while, and so both Karna and Jeanne remaining mana appeared before her.

'That's a lot of mana… how did they amass that much?'

Both of them had about one and a half times the MP (mana) of Shalltear. There was probably nobody else in Nazarick who had a mana capacity like that expect Ainz.

'They truly are Supreme Beings. One could call them an extraordinary beings… a super—no, that would be an understatement, they are godly beings of unparalleled power.

She narrowed her eyes and leaped back in order to prepare for the long haul.

"「Regenerate」."

"I won't make it that easy!" Jeanne said.

The spell Shalltear had just cast could even recover the health of the undead. Currently, it was restoring the health lost from the super tier attack spell. At this moment, Jeanne launched another attack, throwing out multiple holy sphere.

"「Maximize Magic - Divine Bullet」."

The white orb approached at great speed. She considered casting the 「Wall of Stone」 from before, but that would only amount to being countered by Karna.

Shalltear selected—

"—「Greater Teleportation」."

Her field of vision distorted, but the scenery that should have instantly appeared before her eyes felt like it had been slowed down.

Shalltear guessed that this was the effect of the teleport-impeding spell, 「Delay Teleportation」."

As Shalltear had guessed, she was quite a distance away from both Karna Jeanne, until Karna launched toward at lightning speed, Karna raised up his golden spear and it clashed Shalltear. They stayed in the air and exchanged blows for a while before Karna forcefully landed a strike that force Shalltear to slammed into the ground below.

"「Maximize Magic - exploding mines」."

Shalltear sensed the mines and assumed her mist form to evade them as they flew toward her. This skill transmuted the body into mist, and it was quite a flavourful skill for vampires. However, it did not transform the body into the physical phenomenon called mist, but instead phased the body into the astral plane. Thus she could use it to completely avoid attacks in the physical world — the three explosions which resulted.

"Naive!"

After Karna shout, he followed up with a 「Maximize Magic - Astral Smite」."

That spell could strike astral entities, and it found its mark on Shalltear's body, whose defense had been somewhat reduced after taking mist form.

Wracked by agony, Shalltear terminated her mist form. She felt her lip split, and something soft and slippery escaped from within.

"Truly marvellous, as expected of you, a supreme beings!"

Karna did not respond to that honest praise. He merely studied his opponent with doubtful eyes.

'I need to escape, there is no way I can win'

Shalltear made her move.

"「Force Sanctuary」."

White radiance filled the area around Shalltear, a defensive barrier made of pure mana. While this barrier impeded the caster's attacks, it would also completely negate her opponent's attacks.

Shalltear was poor at defensive spells, and she had no intention of casting them. Her aim was purely to drain Karna and Jeanne mana and buy her some time.

'I wonder why they are not using scrolls, staves and wands?'

Both Jeanne and Karna magic resistance completely negated the effects of low to mid-tier spells, regardless of how powerful their casters were. In contrast, Shalltear's magic resistance was affected by her opponent's stats and levels. Even a tenth tier spell by a weak magic caster would not be able to breach her resistance, but against a powerful magic caster — like Karna or Jeanne — first tier spells were the limit.

Some scrolls were affected by their creator's skills, but for the most part, they were made at the minimum possible level that allowed for their creation, which also meant that they were fixed at the lowest possible caster level. Thus, there was a high chance that scrolls would not be able to breach Shalltear's defenses. Was that why they hadn't done it?

As Shalltear analyzed the combat conditions, Jeanne continued casting a spell.

"「Maximize Magic - Thousand Divine Lance」!"

Countless — well over one or two thousand — lances of pure white holy energy form in the sky around Jeanne. The ivory spears assailed the defensive barrier from all directions. Soon, she heard the sound of what seemed like glass cracking, and Shalltear's protective barrier shattered with it. Scattered chips of bone flew in all directions, melting away into nothingness.

"Cheh!"

She had not expected this magic barrier — upon which she had spent a significant amount of mana — to be broken in one move. Shalltear was unable to believe this as an attack on her continued.

"It's not over yet! 「Maximize Magic - Thousand Divine Lance」!"

"—「Greater Teleportation」."

Her teleport destination was an open space in the air, outside of the 「Delay Teleportation」 spell's area of effect.

"Don't think you can get away — 「Maximize Magic - exploding shot」."

Shalltear had expected Karna to follow up with some kind of attack against her. His Spear glowed a bright crimson and he launched it with full force, it came flying over, as though aimed at the place Shalltear would appear after teleporting.

She seemed calm and collected as always, but Shalltear was quite fascinated by Karna and Jeanne incredible prowess. These masterful abilities could only have been honed through long experience.

Shalltear quickly evoked an Impure Shockwave Shield. A wave of force — colored reddish-black like clotted blood — spread forth, it had stop the lance from piercing her but the resulting explosion blew her back upon contact but did not cause too much damage thanks to her shield.

This was one of Shalltear's skills, which combined offense and defense.

"Cheh!"

Karna clicked his tongue at this. Shalltear had done so earlier because things had not gone as planned, but for Karna, it was because he could no longer relax around her.

'Damnit Peroronchino, why did you give her so many skills, we need her to completely used up all her skills — Jeanne i got a plan—'

A gigantic divine lance appeared in Shalltear hand. It was well over three meters long with an especially large head. The aura of purity it emanated proved that this was no ordinary weapon. It reflected the rays of the sun in its silver radiance, producing a beautiful and eye catching display.

This lance of holy energy could pierce through any armor and could not be counter by other spell 9th tier and below.

"What is that!" Jeanne said in shock.

"Well that's new..."

"Ohh whats wrong my lords, for all of your preparation, you can't counter this, Purifying Javelin!"

Shalltear released the platinum lance as she laughed at Karna. She did not throw it like a javelin, but instead it rose by itself and darted out. This was a weapon which was guaranteed to hit if she spent additional MP—

"Guwaargh!"

—And hit it did, piercing Karna chest for the first time. In Shalltear's eyes, that unmoving and stoic face seemed to twist in pain.

"Karna!" Jeanne screamed.

"Ahahaha! That's a holy-element weapon for you; it seems like it was quite effective!" — 'if I can just hold off lord Karna, than maybe i can escape, for right now I just need to focus on lord Karna and try to evade and maybe try to deplete his MP and HP as fast as possible and evade lady Jeanne for right now, I can do this!'

Shalltear summoned the gigantic lance to her hand again, and cast it forth once more. The lance travelled at unavoidable speed, this time piercing Jeanne shoulders.

"「Maximize Magic - Reality Slash」!"

Karna cast a powerful spell.

When one reached the highest level of the strongest warrior class, World Champion, one would learn the supreme, ultimate skill called 「World Break」. This tenth tier spell was merely an inferior copy of that skill, but it was still among the most damaging spells in the game.

It cleaved through the very fabric of space, and fresh blood fountained from Shalltear's chest.

A hit from this powerful attack spell could disregard virtually any form of magical defense, but the damage dealt converted back into health and flowed back into her body, as though time itself had reversed to render the attack completely ineffective.

Jeanne howled at this:

"That wasn't normal recovery magic, what did you just do!?"

"There's no need to get worked up, lady Jeanne. That was a skill too, lord peroroncino saw it fit to bestowed me with plenty" Shalltear answered as she gloated over him "this just prove that he's a better ruler than you are!"

"—That felt like it came from the heart." Jeanne remarks.

That emotionless tone — or perhaps it was so calm that one could not pick out any emotions from it — filled Shalltear with doubt. However, before it could settle in, Karna shouted:

"Here I come, Shalltear! I'll show you that no matter what skills you have, none of them can hold a candle to mine!"

"Aha! You want a showdown of firepower then? Don't think I'll lose to you!" — 'i just need goat him into using all of his MP, I can probably deal with his skill with my magic, but I also need to save that up to fight lady Jeanne, this fight isn't fair at all!...wait I still have that in stored...should i used it now?... no'—

—A 「Maximize Magic - Reality Slash」 spell crossed paths with a Purifying Javelin, each tearing into the bodies of their targets.

As the two of them traded attacks again, Shalltear laughed at Karna foolishness in her heart. At the same time, she was confused —

'why am I fighting him?'

Shalltear Bloodfallen was a Floor Guardian of Nazarick, set over the First to Third Floors. At the same time, she was a loyal subordinate made by the Supreme Being Peroroncino. That being the case, was it not bizarre that she would be fighting other Supreme being of equal status to her creator? Why was she doing battle with two of the supreme ones, who was another member of the Forty One Supreme Beings?

If her creator had so ordered, she would obey and fight with all her strength. Even if all of Nazarick were her enemies, she would charge at them without a moment's hesitation. Yet, this was not the case.

She thought and she thought and she thought, but she could not find an answer.

Still, she could not stop herself. It was as though someone was whispering into her ear, "Shalltear, you have to kill the enemy with everything you have."

Shalltear inspected both Karna and Jeanne MP consumption with 「Mana Essence」, and then she fought to suppress the laughter rising in her heart. At the same time, she reversed time to recover her health.

More powerful spells consumed more mana. 「Reality Slash」 was one of those spells, and it was quite inefficient, in terms of damage caused for mana expended. Even so, Karna was still using it. Shalltear thought that perhaps Karna was hoping to deplete her health and claim victory before the battle became a brawl.

Shalltear narrowed her eyes and focused on Jeanne, who was casting big spells.

'Very well, then I just have to adapt to whatever she comes up with'

Shalltear's skills were divided into the at-will and limited use types. Turning back time to recover damage could only be done three times a day. The Purifying Lance was also only usable three times a day, while the Impure Shockwave Shield could only be used one more time today.

Still, there was no point in being miserly about them. Shalltear's plan was to end the battle with Karna in a melee fight when his MP is gone and his HP is almost depleted. Her MP and skills were essentially tools to deplete Karna MP.

After throwing her final Purifying Javelin, Shalltear accepted the 「Reality Slash」 counterattack, and decided to move into the second phase of the battle.

"How about this, then? 「Summon Holy Angel Tenth」."

"As if I'd let you! 「Greater Rejection」!"

The summoned holy monsters were dispelled in an instant.

Shalltear faked a stern expression, and then cast another spell "「Maximize Magic - True Dark」!"

"「Triplet Maximize Magic - Inferno」."

The spell engulfed both of them, Jeanne was gritting her teeth, as she felt the negative energy running through her body, while three gigantic pillar of fire burned through Shalltear's body.

This was the first time in this battle that she had felt her health drop like a rock, which put a look of displeasure on Shalltear's face.

'Did she make preparations to resist negative attack?'

No matter how powerful one was, one could not prepare to resist all elemental attacks. There was a limit to that, even if a heteromorphic character combined their racial resistances with job classes that granted resistances and outfitted themselves from head to toe in resistance-granting divine class gear. However, by focusing on specific resistances, a character could make themselves immune to elements to which they should have been weak.

In other words, Jeanne had forsaken her other resistances and focused on raising her negative resistance.

Shalltear: "「Maximize Magic - Frozen Aura」."

Karna: "「Maximize Magic - Brilliant Flame」."

Karna was repeatedly assaulted by cold damage while Shalltear was engulfed in holy fire.

In this moment — Shalltear did not miss the fact that Karna had flinched.

Although he was trying to cover it up by changing his stance, there was no way he could cover up the fact that he was trying to remain stoic in the face of pain.

Shalltear smiled inwardly, because she had found his weakness.

No, she could not blame him for that. After all, most fire Demon were highly vulnerable to cold/ice-element attacks. It was very difficult to remove that weakness, and if he had geared himself to resist the holy element, there was no way for him to do so.

The two of them locked eyes, and Shalltear cast her next spell.

Naturally, the spell Shalltear had chosen was still 「Frozen Aura」

They exchanged magic and clashes in this back-and-forth fashion for some time. Shalltear had lost a sizeable amount of health. In fact, her HP (health) might well be zero had she not secretly used MP on skills which defended against spells.

From what she could see, Karna MP was greatly reduced from what it had been when they had first started out. The thing that bothers her the most was his HP, it dropped but not nearly as it should have.

'Could it be that he prepared a defensive or healing magic beforehand?' she could see Karna fighting spirit burning in his eyes.

"Then, time to recover. 「Maximize Magic - Greater Lethal」."

Positive energy restored the health of the living, while negative energy would damage them. However, the opposite was true for the undead. Thus, 「Greater Lethal」, which channelled vast quantities of negative energy, was the most powerful healing spell that Shalltear (one of the undead) could cast.

"I see. It would seem I've lost some health as well — 「Greater Lethal」."

Shalltear blinked several times, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes. However, she had to accept the fact that Karna wounds were recovering before her eyes, even if she could not quite believe it.

"...Eh? Why is it that you can cast the divine spell 「Greater Lethal」? Was it on your class's spell list?"

"No, sadly, this is not an innate ability, but an effect from a magic item. This magic item only allows me to use a single specific spell, and requires me to use an equipment slot, nor can that spell be enhanced with skills. It is also much weaker than someone casting the spell off their own list, so you could say it has many drawbacks."

As Karna complained, he used 「Greater Lethal」 again, causing Shalltear in turn to mumble, "that's a spanner in the works, isn't it?" Still, her aim was to deplete her foe's MP and skills, so the plan was not yet ruined.

With that in mind, Shalltear continued casting 「Greater Lethal」 to recover her health. Since Shalltear was a level one hundred character, it took awhile for her to fully recover.

At the end, she cast—

"「Maximize Magic - Greater Lethal」."

'Jeanne, it time for phase 2, it now your turn' —

'right' —Jeanne jumped in front of Karna to allow him to fully heal, Jeanne then proceed to cast a defensive magic, while Karna began to prep a skill.

"「Body of Effulgent Beryl」."

Shalltear had not received much knowledge from Peroroncino. Thus, she did not know what the 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」 spell did. However, the green radiance that surrounded Jeanne appeared once more, so Shalltear concluded that it must be some kind of defensive magic.

'That seems about right. I'll launch a direct attack next'

Jeanne calmly studied Shalltear, who was bracing her Spuit Lance. She had to triumph in this melee if she was to attain victory.

The back of Shalltear armor bulged out, and a pair of bat wings burst forth, as though going straight through the plates. Jeanne knew what would happen next.

Several giant bats flapped out from behind Shalltear to the sky. These were Elder Vampire Bats summoned through her Household Summons skill. In addition, she continued summoning Vampire Bat Swarms.

They were not strong monsters, but Jeanne could not let them do as they pleased. Jeanne cast a spell:

"「Triplet— Maximize Magic: Divine Bombardment」."

Multiple magic circles appear in the sky and out of those circles were multiple beams of light in the shape of an arrow. The spell showed its true potency against a large number of flying creatures, and the proof of that was adequately shown as the arrows pierce through the Elder Vampire Bats in an instant, the force of which the arrows pierce through the bats were so great that it nick up a small dust cloud.

Just as the Vampire Bats were vanishing after being torn apart — a shadow broke free of the cloud of dust.

It was a crimson shadow, bursting out of the dust at top speed. The lance it thrust before itself left an afterimage in the onlookers' eyes, like the fiery plume of a rocket.

Jeanne barely react in time and manage to pull out the sword at waist. There weapon clash back and forth for awhile and they seen to be even in terms of strength and skill.

With one blow Shalltear manage to hit Jeanne in the abdomen while Jeanne manage to cut shalltear in the arm.

The weapon which had struck Jeanne did bludgeoning damage, Jeanne was forced back and Shalltear yield in pain from the holy sword that had cut her arm.

Any pain which Jeanne felt would cut out once its intensity exceeded a certain threshold. This was why even Leaticia (her IRL name), who lacked combat experience, could endure this pain and calmly deal with it.

However, Jeanne will was stronger than that weak mind.

Shalltear did not cease her attack, even as Jeanne considered what steps to take next.

Having impaled her with the tip of Shalltear lance, she continued driving it forward, ramming the point straight into Jeanne body and forcing the thicker part of the lance behind it into her. Jeanne felt her body tearing apart, as well as a burst of intense pain, accompanied by the sensation of her health depleting further.

Thus, Jeanne decided to activate the 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」.

The green light which enfolded her shattered.

The tenth tier spell 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」 reduced the effectiveness of bludgeoning attacks against its subject while it was in effect, and it could completely negate one instance of bludgeoning damage after it was cast.

The 「Body of Effulgent Beryl」 absorbed the damage dealt by the lance, and so it seemed as though time had turned itself backward, the lance's tip retreating back outside Jeanne body.

Jeanne moved back to where she had been standing before the lance had impaled her. As Shalltear watched her in bafflement, Jeanne cast another spell.

"「Protection of Heaven Gate」!"

A golden gate made of holy energy erupted between the two of them. The gate holy radiance force her to be on guard.

"「Maximize Magic - Force Explosion」."

An invisible shockwave exploded from Shalltear. The golden gate buckled under the invisible impact, and then completely disintegrated.

The pulverized chunks of iron patterned like rain as they fell. Still, Jeanne had bought some time for Karna, so it had been worthwhile.

"Release!"

In accordance with Karna command, one of his skills activated「Divine Execution」 triggered three magic circles, each of which released thirty streaks of light, for a total of ninety. These white bolts of light were non-elemental 「Magic Arrows」. The dazzling afterimage left behind as they travelled through the air were like the spread wings of an angel — an angel of death.

Sensing something odd, Shalltear desperately tried to evade them, but the ivory bolts of light turned a full ninety degrees in mid-air and chased her down, falling on her like hail.

The ninety magical bolts scored hit after hit on Shalltear, rapidly dropping her health.

The reason why they could pierce Shalltear's defense so easily was because Karna had used another skill to temporarily boost his skill to the equivalent of tenth tier spells.

Karna was not finished yet.

"Now! 「**Skill Kavacha and Kundala: O' Sun Become Armor and Weapon**」."

Karna body glowed and so did his weapon, he launched at Shalltear and when he was in rang, Karna swipe the ground below Shalltear feet and the result was a titled wave of crimson flame. It completely covered Shalltear and burned her a great deal.

Fighting through tremendous amount of pain, Shalltear pulled herself before him, spurting blood and scream as she did. Then, she suddenly curled herself up. The air distorted — and a massive shockwave erupted from Shalltear's body.

'That isn't a 「Force Explosion」! That's an Impure Shockwave Shield!'

The shock wave generated by the skill blew away the flame and smashed into Karna, sending him flying slightly into the distance.

Perhaps the Impure Shockwave Shield had been enhanced by another skill, but Karna had a great deal of difficulty as he tries to stop his momentum with his feet. He had even had to use the grace of his 「Fly」 spell to fully stop his movement.

'Now!' Shalltear unexpectedly turn and use her wings to fly away.

"Obito!" Jeanne shouted out.

Obito: "[**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**]" a torrent of flame in the shape of a giant ball came hurraling at Shalltear.

Shalltear barely dodges by the skin of her teeth but—

Itachi: "[**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu**]"

Multiple smaller version of the fireball she just dodged came flying at her but this time it hit her and deal quite a bit of damage.

"Aahhaaa!" Shalltear desperately try flapped her wings and tries to escape despite her immense pain.

"[**Sōfūshasan no Tach**i]"

Shisui appeared above her and fling multiple shuriken at her, however none of them hit her, instead wires that was attached to the shuriken, wrapped all around her body, Shisui then fling her to the ground. Sasuke grabbed the wire from Shisui and put the end of the wire in his mouth, with a deep breath he released a torrent of flame in the shape of a dragon that travel along the iron wires.

"[**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu**]"

Shalltear could feel her body burn away, as she desperately struggles to get free of the wires that was binding her but the flame burn the wire instead and Shalltear broke free.

"T-th-the U-uchiha!?" Smoke still linger on her body and blood was dripping down her lips and her armor and pale face were filled with burns, scuffs and browse.

'I have no choice, this is essentially sucide but there is no way I can win now…'

"「Force Sanctuary」." A white radiance filled the area around Shalltear, a defensive barrier made of pure mana.

Karna saw a ball of white light coalesce in front of Shalltear, which slowly shaped itself into a humanoid form.

Karna was very aware of what that was.

His unmoving face slowly turned into a smile.

"It's here… It's finally here, huh? I knew she'd would use 「Einherjar」 sooner or later..."

The white light fully resolved itself into the shape of a person.

If one ignored the bleached-white armor and the glowing skin, it was the spitting image of Shalltear.

Karna understood that the resemblance was not merely cosmetic.

While it lacked Shalltear's spellcasting ability and several skills, and had no magic items, its weapons, armor, and stats were otherwise identical to Shalltear. It was not undead, but a golem-like Construct. The two creature types had nearly identical resistances and immunities.

In other words, there was another Shalltear, who could only fight in melee combat.

In addition, Shalltear had summoned countless minions, like wolves, bats, rats, and the like—

These summoned minions were not as powerful as the Einherjar, but he could not discount their power in a group.

'I could wipe them all out with an area-effect spell — Obito, you and your brothers surround her, do not let her escape, when Einherjar attack, I want you all to stop it or kill it as fast as possible — alright it finally the final stretch of this fight, Jeanne, buy me some time ok, alright everyone let's finish this!'

Just as Karna was about to make his next move, the Einherjar charged, and that along with something else surprised him.

'Now that's just unfair!' Karna cursed.

'To think she would actually do something like that' Jeanne thought.

'Well it looks like she is somewhat smarter than I gave her credit for' Obito thought.

What they saw were the sight of Shalltear's summoned minions disappearing one after the other, their bodies pierced by the Spuit Lance.

Shalltear was killing her summoned minions with the Spuit Lance to restore her health.

The summoned minions steadily died and vanished.

This was an unexpectedly cruel fact.

Since friendly fire was in effect, this too should have been an expected outcome.

The charging Einherjar clash with Jeanne, she was taken aback slightly as her focus of Shalltear turn to the Einherjar. In the second that Jeanne was in a shock state, the Einherjar manages to hit her in her shoulder.

The expressionless Einherjar continued its attack, but it attack was blocked by Shisui wakizashi as he uses his [Body Flicker] skills —which allow one to teleport a short distance with perfect accuracy— to appear in front of the Einherjar.

Obito appears above both Shisui and the Einherjar and kick the Einherjar in the face which knocked it back a fair distance away from them. Itachi followed up with a kick of his own and knocked it back even further, he then reached into the pouch behind him and pulled out 3 kunai with paper tag attached to it and throw it toward the Einherjar.

The kunai pierce the Einherjar and the paper tag exploded. A moment later the Einherjar burst out of the cloud of dust, its charge at the Uchiha Brothers again.

Itachi jump back and the Einherjar charged straight at Obito, with its lance raised high it thrust it forward in the hopes of piercing Obito heart. However — '[**Mangekyo Sharingan**]'— the three tomoe in Obito [**Sharingan**] spins and converge into a Kaleidoscopic pattern.

—The lance along with the entire body of the Einherjar just past through Obito body.

—-—-

"What happened!?" Albedo said in complete shock.

"What Obito just did was use one of his skills, this skill was derived from his [**Mangekyo Sharingan**] job class and it is called [**Kamui**], it allows Obito to use his right eye to temporarily transfer all or parts of his body to a dimension. His body and anything he's holding will remain visible to others, but they won't be able to interact with him, thus making him intangible for a short amount of time" Ainz explains as the guardians was in awe.

'At least that was what the lore said…'

"And in Obito left eye, it can allow Obito to looks at a target and creates a "barrier space" around them, with the barrier's size being determined by the user. When the user concentrates, anything within the barrier is pulled towards its centre, transferring the target to a dimension"

"That powerful…" Demiurge said in awe "so the user can hypothetically snipe a target from afar or at least at the user eye range?"

"Hypothetically yes…"

"That's. Amazing. He's. Almost. Invincible. With. That. Ability!" an icy breath escape from Cocytus mouth.

"Yes, almost, the downside to this is that if one is faster than Obito, they can hit him and if he was to use his right eye ability, he can't attack back while in that state, also as lord Ainz had just said, he can only remain in that intangible state for a short amount of time" Demiurge explain as he pushed up his glasses and let out a smile.

Ainz nodded in confirmation "and each time it is used, the user will lose a sizable chunk of their MP"

"Even so that is quite power" Albedo said "my lord, please correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the other Uchiha has the [**Mangekyo Sharingan**] job class as well?"

"Yes, they all do"

"Then can they all use the [**Kamui**] ability?" Albedo ask.

"No, the [**Mangekyo Sharingan**] job class is very unique, each possessor of the [**Mangekyo Sharingan**] job class all has different abilities, for example Itachi [**Mangekyo Sharingan**] ability is to cast a very powerful illusion that can bypass any resistance, it is call [**Tsukuyomi**], Shisui [**Kotoamatsukami**] can control multiple targets without them even knowing it and Sasuke is able to control and manipulate the black flame of [**Amatersu**] which could burn for seven days and seven nights — 'I wonder if those lores are correct' — however, each one of these ability does have a limit and have weakness and the user can't use these abilities infinitely"

"Now. I. Know. Why. They. Are. Called. One. Of. The. Strongest. Creation. Of. The. Supreme. Beings. To. Ever. Be. Made…"

—-—-—

As the Einherjar completely past through Obito body, Sasuke [**Sharingan**] also change. Instead of a Kaleidoscopic pattern, Sasuke eyes change from a three tomoe to a flower pattern.

"[**Enton Kagutsuchi**]" Black flame suddenly appeared and completely covered the Einherjar. The flame did not just stop with the Einherjar, it spread throughout the battle until it reached Shalltear.

Shalltear, sensing something wrong, spread out her wings and quickly fly up into the sky as the black flame scorched and destroyed all of the Einherjar and her familiars.

The land was still set ablaze with the black flame as Karna began to walk toward Shalltear who slowly descend from the sky.

'Let end this' Karna though.

Karna had sixty levels of job classes, and one of them was quite special.

It was a class that was very rare even in YGGDRASIL, held only by a small number of players.

Karna could enter this class because he was fixated on pure power and stick to a specific type of character. If he hadn't pursued character power, he would not have discovered this class by chance.

This was because the class's entry requirements were five levels of [**Conqueror of Flame**]. In normal games, most people would spread the news of a newly-discovered class on walkthrough sites to share with others. However, games like YGGDRASIL put a very high premium on information. For instance, few people would share news about a World Class Item with others without charge. This was especially true for classes with trump cards.

The class in question was called "Son of The Sun God." And because of this class Karna was able to become famous in YGGDRASIL, he was hailed as the strongest player and where his title came from.

The class description stated, "Only a child who can conquer even the flame of divinity and is born to the god of the sun may enter this class, which destroys all life with the flame of the divine."

The move Karna was planning to use was one which was only available after reaching the maximum level of 5 in the [Son of The Sun God], a skill which could only be used once every hundred hours.

This AOE skill was the trump card of the class.

That skill was called—

'Everyone it time to evacuate, go now!'

—'he's going to use it, —Ikarus activate Aegis now!' Jeanne commanded as Obito sucked everyone into the Kamui dimension along with himself.

The red gem embedded in Karna chest began to light up and glow a bright red as fire began to form around his body "**「****O'Sun Abide to Death: Vasavi Shakti****」**!"

Karna began to lifted off the ground and fly to the heavens, his body seen to glowed a light red before it burst into crimson flame, four red blades spread out from his back along with a streak of purple energy. His cape disappears along with his armor, Karna spear began to change, it grew longer and at it tip a black blade appeared and it grew wider with a purple line at it center that stretch it the tip. Karna raised the spear to the heavens as a small sun began to appear at the tip. It did not take long before the sky was completely blocked by a giant ball of fire, at it center was Karna.

The air that hung around the battlefield was intense, it was unbearable, so much so that the trees themselves burst into flame and the area around it was completely scorched.

"This fight is over Shalltear, goodbye…" with that, Karna brought down his spear as it pointed at Shalltear, the sun began to descend.

The earth was forever scared and everything within that area died that day, no life would ever grow again.

—-—-—

—A few miles away from the fight with Shalltear, each of the Angeloids could feel a wave of scorching heat wash through them.

"!"

—"What is this tremendous heat?!" Astil thought.

—'Ikarus activate Aegis now!'—

A few miles away from Astil location —"that lady Jeanne!" Nymph shouted in surprise.

All of the four Angeloid look in the direction of the fight and saw gigantic ball of fire in the sky "It has begun" Ikarus green eyes began to change from organ to red as she spread out her light pink wings and took to the sky at lightning speed.

Once Ikarus was at the maximum height she activated her skill Aegis. This was one of the most powerful defenses in YGGDRASIL, it can even tank three super tier magic.

Her wings began to change from light pink to that of bright —almost blinding— white. "**[Aegis]**" a light blue sphere with Hexagon pattern expands outward from Ikarus body as it covered the entire area of the forest, enveloping Karna and Shalltear.

—-—-—

The battlefield was akin to a nuclear explosion site, the scale of this attack was three times more than that of the super tier magic [**Collapsing Heavens**] and it leaves three times the crater size as well.

Karna trump card, **「****O'sun Abide to Death: Vasavi Shakti****」**was an AOE attack that was classified as an anti-army and a anti-divine attack. It was the most sought out skill by players in YGGDRASIL, it was so powerful it was rumored by players that it can solo some of the toughest bosses in the game. This attack can bypass any immunities or resistance and can kill the user targets in an instance.

However the downside to this is that once this skill is used, all other skills will be unusable for an hour and**「****O'sun Abide to Death: Vasavi Shakti****」**won't be able to be used in a few days. This attack can also be resisted if one used a resurrection effect on before the skill take affect, as Shalltear had. So if one was to use this attack, they must be sure that it will kill the opponent in one shot or they will be left completely defenseless.

The air and the land was scorched, not even ashes remain, in short everything had died because of that attack.

In YGGDRASIL, the environment would not have succumbed, but in this new world, the effects were quite appropriate to the skill. All things were equal in the face of Death.

Karna himself was taken aback by this strange effect. The land had not been burnt and scorched like this in YGGDRASIL. He could not help but shake his head after witnessing the effects of the game's powers in the real world.

However, Karna swallowed back his surprise. The pride in his heart would not permit him to show any sign of shock. Instead, he acted as though this had been part of his plan. Carrying himself with the arrogance that befitted a ruler, he gently asked the sole survivor:

"What do you think, after experiencing the power that can slay even the gods?"

The wind blew, dispersing the hot and chard air between them. That wind carried his words to her.

"Incredible, I would expect nothing less of you, Lord Karna. My household summons are dead to the last. However, your MP is nearly depleted and your health is half of what it used to be, while my health is still at maximum, I had to deplete all of my MP and use up all my skills in order to drain your MP, lord Karna. You would have won if it weren't for that attack which leave you defenseless, you have almost zero MP and your skills are blocked, did you not know about the resurrection Item lord peroroncino gave me?"

Shalltear smile an arrogant smile as she tightened her grip on the Spuit Lance. Even though Karna could not use his skills or magic, he was still a formidable opponent so she was still on guard but she was sure her victory was assured. Though she now have the advantage she was still every wary of Karna, even if he couldn't use his skill he still have some MP left and he was still far superior in weapons combat.

Karna merely smiled and stood proudly where he was.

Shalltear's forehead twitches.

She was very annoyed.

She was very annoyed at Karna nonchalance. However, in the end Shalltear managed to swallow her rising uneasiness.

Shalltear slowly closed the distance between them. Even if her enemy tried to cast a spell from a scroll or directly attack her, Shalltear was confident of being able to strike faster than him. Thus, there was no need to be hasty.

She could sense his determination from his stance.

—"I want to thank you Shalltear, I want to thank you for perfectly playing into all of this and I want you to know that this entire battle was meant for this very moment, so thank you"

"What!?"

"You think you have the advantage, don't you? My friend Peroroncino told me a great many things when he was making you. After we came to this world, I took the liberty of memorizing everyone's information. However, aside from mine and Jeanne NPC, you are probably the NPC in Nazarick with whom I am most familiar—"

Karna smiled and stand before her without running away because he was confident of attaining victory.

"Besides, last time I checked there were two of us, it is time to end this… JEANNE!"

The flow of blood meant nothing to the undead, but Shalltear could feel hers draining from her face. In exchange, a wave of agitation spread through her entire body.

The anxious, uneasy and even fearful Shalltear clutched at her Spuit Lance, intending to finish this battle right away, intending to kill her foe with strike after strike, as fast as possible. She leaped forward with lightning speed as she attends to kill Karna with one shot.

A hand reach forward from behind Shalltear and grabbed her shoulder "let's finish this fight elsewhere shall we?" The voice of Obito Uchiha rang throughout Shalltear ears.

Obito eyes glowed a bright red as Shalltear was sucked into Obito eyes like a swirling world pool the only thing remains of her was her shock and fearful cries which echoed throughout the battlefield "NOOO!".

"Keep Jeanne safe and if she hesitated to kill Shalltear..." Karna said.

"Do not worry my lord I will deliver the kill if need be, I will not fail you" Obito bowed deeply as he too began to be sucked into his eye.

'I'd leave everything in your hands then' Karna turned back and began to walk to where Aura and Mare was.

—-

Shalltear suddenly appears in a world composed of an innumerable amount of randomly arranged and differently sized rectangular prisms amongst a dark and seemingly endless void.

"W-what's going?! Where is this place!?" Shalltear screamed as she frantically looked around her to see if anyone was around. As she turned around, she saw the Uchiha brothers standing behind Obito.

"Where am I!?"

"You are in my world, the world of Kamui, if you want to escape, you have to either kill me or go find an escape route, so Shalltear Bloodfallen, creation of one of the 41 Supreme Beings lords Peroroncino the avian lord of the sky and Guardians of the first to third floor of the great underground tomb of Nazarick, which do you choose?"

'There is no way I can kill him, especially with his brothers around that only leaves me with one choice—' Shalltear hesitated to that choice because of her pride but eventually she leaped back with great speed and flies off to find that escape route.

"What a disappointing answer" Obito remarks.

An instant before Shalltear could get any further, a flash of gold and silver went by so fast that Shalltear can't even register it. On pure Instinct she raised her Spuit Lance to attack whatever it was that just went by.

A clear, crisp sound rang forth.

Shalltear could not help but doubt her eyes.

This was impossible.

Jeanne appear in front of her and Shalltear Spuit Lance was blocked by Jeanne sword that was now pure white instead of the once shining silver. Shalltear froze as she beheld the scene before her.

Jeanne usual dark purple dress and silver armor was replaced by a set of pure white dress and armor, even her head ornament was now as white as her clothes and armor. All of her current equipment was radiating a pure, holy light, from her hair and eyes to her entire body, it radiant a holy and pure aura.

From her superior height, Jeanne looked toward Shalltear. (Jeanne is 5.2 and Shalltear is 4.9)

No… she was probably looking down on Shalltear.

—-

Ainz and the Guardians was still watching the battle intently but not with the「Crystal Monitor」because the battle was now in another dimension and the「Crystal Monitor」did not allow for that type of surveillance. Instead they where watch through a magic mirror that did allow for that use, this mirror was called「The Eye of The All Father」.

As they watch on, they eventually witness Jeanne new form. There was a loud bang as a hand struck the magnificently crafted wooden table, which shuddered from the blow it had taken.

One of the guardians had struck the table several times, but this was the first time that particular person had done so.

"Amazing! What. An. Honor. To. See. That. Armor. That. Form. This. Is. Lady. Jeanne. Most. Powerful. Equipment. **[The Heavenly Maiden]**!"

"**[The Heavenly Maiden]**?" Albedo said in awe as she name the armor.

"Correct, the armor she's wearing is one of the reasons why she is one of the most powerful players in YGGDRASIL"

"Isn't that armor on par with lord Touch-Me?" Demiurge asked as he pushed up his glasses.

Cocytus seemed very excited — no, in truth, he was very excited — as he exclaims:

"Yes. It. Is. Even. Though. That. Armor. Is. Not. One. Of. The. Nine. World. Champions. Armors. It. Still. Possess. The. Same. Or. At. The. Every. Least. Equivalent. Power. To. A. World. Champions!"

A World Champion armor could only belong to only nine people in YGGDRASIL who win the developer-sanctioned tournament could possess the class of World Champion, and the company awarded a special piece of equipment to the champion as a prize.

Touch Me had chosen his suit of white armor. These specially-made armor complemented his status as a World Champion, and its abilities exceeded those of divine class items, putting it on par with Guild Weapons. Of course, since it was a gift to the champion, only the World Champion could equip it, unless an item or skills created for the sole purpose to bypass it was used.

However the pure white armor and dress which Jeanne wore was created especially for her by her friend Amanomahitotsu who was a talented blacksmith of Ainz Ooal Gown. Though the armor was not as powerful as Touch-Me world champions armor, it was still comparable as Amanomahitotsu work day and night to created for her. He had used many rare materials that the guild had gathered over the years to make it. By the time the armor was finished an entire year had even by, this just proves the level of care and craftsmanship that went into this armor.

—-

—The sound of clashing metal rang forth.

"Gyaaaaah—!"

An unbelievable sight unfolded before Shalltear's eyes. The edge of the blade cleaved into Shalltear's chest from her shoulder, until it reached her unbeating heart.

Shalltear's crimson armor was dyed an even deeper shade of red. She scrambled back, looking at Jeanne in shock.

Jeanne sword was gone and in her hand she held a spear with a white flag that was wrapped around the handle. he spear was pure white and the silver blade at its end cut through Shalltear's armor as though slicing through paper.

Her armor was a legendary class item. Only a rare few divine class weapons could go through it with such ease.

Then — there was only one answer.

Yes.

Jeanne was holding one of those few weapons—

Shalltear screamed the name of that spear as she coughed up blood.

"Luminosité Eternelle!"

Shalltear leaped back, avoiding the strike from the spear. The fact that she had jumped so far beyond the spear striking range was a sign of how frightened she was of that weapon.

However, nobody would mock Shalltear for doing so, even less so if they were denizens of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Rather, they would have sympathetic looks on their faces, because they all feared this weapon of the Supreme Being.

They feared the sight of this spear, named after gods protection and wielded by Jeanne D'arc, one of the strongest Forty One Supreme Beings.

"Did the Supreme Ones not say so, Shalltear? The guild Ainz Ooal Gown does not know defeat, so Shalltear Bloodfallen, open your eyes and witness the might of the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and the people whom you praise with your very own mouth." Obito said as he along with his brothers leaped back in order to give the two some room to fight.

"Shalltear, this fight is now over, you are not just fighting 1 or 2 of the supreme beings but 41, this battle was decided before it had even begun" Jeanne calmly said as she took a step forward, and Shalltear immediately took two steps back.

Her words rang with absolute confidence and the utmost assurance.

Those words were the signal for the attack.

Jeanne leap forward and delivered blindingly fast strike with her spear. Multiple cuts appeared on Shalltear body as the holy spear came forward once more with a powerful thrust attack.

Shalltear leapt away, preparing to jump forward as she did. Her aim was to counterattack Jeanne in the opening after she made her move. Sure enough, it was hard to be overly precise with the spear Luminosité Eternelle, much like it was with the Spuit Lance.

The holy light swirled around Luminosité Eternelle and it rent the air as it came down — and then the tip of the blade halted in front of Shalltear, who was preparing to jump, before thrusting forward at incredible speeds.

No matter how strong one was, it was very difficult to stop a full-strength blow in the middle of a swing. This was especially true when one used a long and heavy weapon.

Yet, Jeanne could do it. This was because she had not used all her force to attack. In other words, she knew that the strike would have been avoided, so she had deliberately feinted an opening.

The continuation of that attack had also been planned out, down to which strike she would use to follow up. It was an instinctive, natural movement for a warrior.

Jeanne simply provided the bodily strength to turn it into reality.

'It'll be hard to avoid it'

That was what Shalltear calmly thought as she saw the tip of the spear coming at her, as fast as lightning. However, thrusts were a risky move. One could use the weaknesses of thrusting attacks to turn a dangerous situation into an opportunity.

'Then… it can't be helped'

Shalltear put her hand into the path of the thrust, having decided to sacrifice her left arm.

As the spear pierced her palm, Shalltear twisted her left hand, successfully diverting the thrust to one side.

It did not penetrate her chest, but the tip of the spear still drove through her left palm, into the muscle and bone, until it was deeply buried in her left arm. In addition, the holy light surrounding the spear coursed through and burned Shalltear's body.

Though she was undead, the sensation of being savagely penetrated still filled Shalltear with something resembling terror, though she kept the corners of her mouth raised.

It was a smile — not one which an injured person would make, but neither was it a brave front. After all, that was what Shalltear had intended.

Shalltear tensed her left arm. The spear halted, pinned down by her strength.

Thrusts were maneuvers that might end up leaving one's weapon stuck in a foe's flesh should they miss their mark. Hence, they were not very practical in combat. In other words, they had a weakness. Shalltear knew that weakness, which was why she had sacrificed her left arm to force an opening in her opponent's defense.

She could not have done so if she could not grasp the spear in her left hand in the instant before it impaled her — a feat which she had to perform within tenths of a second.

"You're wide open now!"

Now that her spear was tied up, Jeanne had no way of defending against the Spuit Lance.

As Shalltear thrust the Spuit Lance at lightning speed, she once more beheld a startling sight.

Jeanne stood still as the Spuit Lance came at her — "Luminosité Eternelle!" — the moment it did, it was repealed by a golden barrier that surrounded Jeanne. Her Luminosité Eternelle glowed a bright gold as Shalltear was flinged back by an invisible force.

"W-what just happen!?" Shalltear said in shock as she regains her balance.

—-

Shalltear question was shared by the Guardians as they looked to Ainz for answered.

"Luminosité Eternelle is god protection made into a weapon, it is a very powerful divine class holy weapon, it is the ultimate offense and the ultimate defense against the undead" Ainz explain "I guess you all could say it is the anti-undead weapon, no undead could defend against this weapon, even a level 100 undead with holy protection item like me could not stop that weapon from causing holy damage, by sacrificing her armor like that, she will never be able to heal it and for the rest of the battle, her HP will be repeatedly assaulted by holy damage" as Ainz finish, the guardians waste no time in praising the weapon to high heaven.

"It truly earn it name as one of the most powerful weapons among the 41!"

"Truly amazing!"

"Truly. A. Powerful. Weapon. That. Is. Rightfully. Feared!"

'Thinking back on it, the dev really hated heteromorph especially the undead, why else would they make those kinda weapons?! They even made certain city restricted to us, not to mention the rare classes one could gain when mass killing heteromorphic players… huh time was tough back then...'

—-

As Shalltear glared at Jeanne, she vowed to make Jeanne suffer more than her left hand had. She charged and thrust the Spuit Lance with all her might — and then it was deflected, with a clear, crisp sound of metal against metal.

"Eh?" Shalltear exclaimed in surprise.

The Spear was no longer in Jeanne hand, and in its place was her pure white sword, which had deflected the Spuit Lance and the blade was as blindingly brilliant as the sun itself.

"Let finish this in close quarter shall we, Shalltear?"

Jeanne push Shalltear back and the two continue lock blades, as they exchanged blows, Shalltear was push back —it want not because of Jeanne strength but her speed— inch by inch until she was near the edge of the giant cube that they were standing on. With another fast strike, Shalltear loses her balance and fell down the cube.

However, because of Shalltear wings, she was able to fly back up again.

But four pure white wings spread from Jeanne back —courtesy of having level in Angel races— as she flies up and aimed her blade at Shalltear neck. However the attack at her neck was a feint; Jeanne altered her blade course and streaked at her shoulder. It was only by the barest of margins that the Spuit Lance managed to deflect it.

As they continue to battle in the sky, Jeanne took the advantage of being faster and close the gap with Shalltear. Since her foe was using a massive weapon and she was using a smaller weapons, drawing nearer would make it harder for her opponent to make her move. This was the thinking of a veteran — one who was intimately familiar with that idea.

Then, Jeanne sword sliced into the gap in the Spuit Lance's defense and lightly pierced Shalltear's body.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

She wailed in pain.

Actually being stabbed did not hurt that much. The problem was the agony which came from the holy-element energy which filled her body like poison. That pain was much harder to bear.

Jeanne twisted her sword to a side while the blade was still in Shalltear, as though to saw open the wound.

"Get away from me!"

The distance between Shalltear and Jeanne was too narrow to use the Spuit Lance, so she kicked at Jeanne. She blocked it with a gauntlet hand, she then proceed to grab Shalltear foot and throw her to the ground with great force. Shalltear quickly stood up and regained her composure, at this moment, Shalltear saw that Jeanne sword had disappeared as she landed in front of her.

Then, in the sword place appeared the Luminosité Eternelle spear.

"Take this!"

—And as Jeanne shouted, she twirled the spear and swiped her spear in the air and a wave of light shot toward Shalltear with great speed.

Shalltear reflexively raised the Spuit Lance to defend herself, but the massive impact travelled through the Spuit Lance and washed over her entire body while burning it in the process.

"Gugyaaah!"

Shalltear yelped pathetically as the holy energy course through her body and she was flung backwards. She recovered her lost balance quickly thanks to her wings but a fire still burned inside her head.

"How, how dare you force such a pitiful sound out of me!… huh!?"

Her eyes shifted, and as she saw a massive globe of light, Shalltear's agitation vanished.

That flare of sunlight came from Jeanne who was now holding her sword but not at the handle but at the blade instead. Blood flow down her hand as the blade cut into her flesh, the fire that surrounded her flared up until it created a tornado of brilliant crimson flame.

"No, no way that's… [**The Crimson Saint**]!"

'Dammit! I'm out of skills! If I had saved some, I could defend myself with an Impure Shockwave Shield! I'm out of MP too! If I had known, I should have saved a few uses for… no!

Shalltear's eyes turned bloodshot and she bellowed. This was the expression of one who had realized their mistake after the fact, and who was determined not to admit defeat.

"Damn you! How did you obtain this much power!?"

"What sort of magician would I be if I told you the secret?"

As the crimson fire tornado expanded, it burst and unravel itself as sea of flame made it way toward Shalltear like a tsunami. She knew it was useless, but she tried to block it with the Spuit Lance anyway — and then her surroundings were enveloped by a blast of exploding brilliance.

Shalltear tried to think as the sacred radiance scorched her entire body. Retreating was pointless, where could she even go in this dimension and if this went on, there was nothing she could do but let Jeanne slaughter her at her leisure.

That white armor Jeanne wore had high defensive power, but she could not possibly be unscathed by a hit from the Spuit Lance. All she could do was count on her weapon's life-absorbing properties as she abandoned all defense and focused on an all-out attack.

"Uoooooh!"

Shalltear gave voice to a battlecry that did not suit her face. A cold, clear voice responded to her:

"That a good resolved Shalltear, but it end here"

Jeanne entire body glowed a bright gold, when the light faded she was now wearing her usual dark purple and silver dress and armor again. As Shalltear saw this, Shalltear hesitated on whether or not to advance, but in the end she took a step forward.

After all, there was nowhere for her to run.

"Tell me Shalltear, with the amount of HP you have left, can you still tank a super tier magic?"

"!?"

—-

"Finally the fight is over ...Jeanne wins."

Those solemn words slipped out from Ainz as he shook his head.

"I. Am. In. Awe. Of. The. Supreme. One. Prowess. They. Truly. Deserve. The. Title. Of. The. Strongest"

All of the guardians agreed with a nod as they, along with Ainz, began to head toward the throne room to prepare for Karna and Jeanne return and prepare for Shalltear resurrection.

—-

Knowing that defeat was at hand, Shalltear mindlessly charge at Jeanne.

In the face of that, Jeanne made her final move.

However there was a slight problem, to begin with, super tier magic was like a skill, and did not consume MP. However, it was still a form of magic, and when she cast it, she will not be able to defend herself from Shalltear Spuit Lance. The casting time was long and Shalltear could bring her HP back to haft with her Spuit Lance by the time the casting time was done.

But Jeanne had already thought of a counter to this. Her solution was —Cast Shop Item— and the Uchiha Brothers. Jeanne briefly went over the timing of her actions. First, she would have to get a fair distance away from Shalltear, and then she would use a cash item.

She smiled.

She had never been this profligate in the use of cash items before, even when PVPing in YGGDRASIL. This was the difference between a game and reality — between entertainment and survival.

'Obito, I am in need of your assistant, hold Shalltear off, I'm about to to cast a super tier magic'

'As you command my lady'

All of the Uchiha brothers stood up and they jump down from one of the giant cubes, Obito equips a wide fan with tomoe on it and it has a long handle with bandages wrapped around the base, as well as having a long chain attached to it. He blocked Shalltear's full-tilt attack with his gunbai which is a Legendary Class items.

Jeanne leapt a great deal of dispelled away from the fight between Obito and Shalltear and cast the super tier spell.

The same magic circle appeared around her as before, and she prepared to break the hourglass-like cash item.

—And then she suddenly hesitated.

This was because a wave of guilt flooded through her; guilt at murdering an NPC which her friend had painstakingly created.

Her hesitation was a fatal mistake.

Shalltear did not miss that opening. She noticed the item in Jeanne hand and deliver a powerful strike toward Obito which knock him a little. Take this opportunity, Shalltear charge straight at Jeanne and thrust her Spuit Lance, enhanced with a skill. Her plan was to destroy Jeanne's hand.

Having been in the middle of casting, Jeanne could not possibly avoid Shalltear's attack—

"I don't think so —[**Tsukuyomi**]!"

"Not good!" Shalltear exclaimed but by then it was already too late.

—And then Shalltear felt something.

Just as the Spuit Lance was about to destroy the item, she felt something on her spine. That was clearly hostility.

Someone hostile had appeared beside Shalltear, so obviously that she could not ignore it.

Shalltear averted her eyes from Jeanne to see who that enemy was.

And then — she found that there was nobody there, she was not even in the Kamui dimension anymore. Shalltear looked around confused, then saw was surrounded and sourm by black crows. She swung her lance from side to side to get rid of the crows. As she looked around, all she saw was a red moon casting a red light throughout the cloudy atmosphere, giving the background a blood-red appearance. As she looked up she saw an inverted grayscale.

—"This will be over in an instant"

—Back in the real world/the dimensions of Kamui—

"Thank you Itachi!" The hourglass shattered, reducing the casting time of the spell to zero, the magic circle expands and glowed even brighter until it was almost blinding.

"**「Fallen Down」**!"

With those words, a brilliant flash erupted between them and swallowed up everything.

Shalltear regain her sense but it was too late, she could feel her body disintegrating in the incredible heat.

Her carbonized right arm crumbled to dust, while the Spuit Lance slowly fell to what was probably the ground in this bleached-white world. Her face was shrivelled up from the incoming heat, and all she could see before her was whiteness.

Her throat was dried up too — in fact, she did not know if her throat had also been incinerated — so it was difficult to speak. Still, there was one thing she had to say. Shalltear Bloodfallen marshalled the last reserves of her vitality to give praise:

"...long live the 41 Supreme Beings. Truly, they are the mightiest of Nazarick..."

This was her sincere respect for the almighty Forty One Supreme Beings. The heatwave seemed to burn away her bindings, and though her body could not move, she felt unimaginably free as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Shalltear smiled, and said:

"...goodbye...Aura..."

Thus satisfied, Shalltear vanished into a world of white.

—

Karna sit at the edge of the cliff with one of his lag dangling down and the other was bent and was acting as his arm rest, behind him was Aura and Mare "It seems it finally over, right Obito?"

Obito was kneeling beside Karna as he nodded "Shalltear Bloodfallen is dead"

There was a look of annoyance on Aura face as she began scolding someone who was not there silently.

"You dummy… how could you let yourself get mind controlled, even though you were undead? That's just so stupid of you." She whispered.

"What, what's wrong, Onee-chan?"

"Hm? Nothing."

Mare knew his sister was in a bad mood, so he said nothing else, but obediently acknowledged her commands.

Aura's best friend had been mind-controlled, and made to point her lance at the beloved masters to whom they had all sworn their loyalty. While her execution was the expected outcome of such a course of action, she still felt upset about it.

Mare looked where Aura had been looking, but since he was deep in the forest, all he could see in any direction was trees. Still, he could tell what Aura was looking at from the way she was facing.

She should have been observing the battle between Shalltear and her masters up until they entered Obito dimension.

His big sister Aura could use a ranger skill to expand her field of vision to about two kilometers. This was why he and his sister were standing watch over the surroundings with the help of the Eyeball Corpses.

The form of the three remaining supreme beings— beings that not even the strongest Guardian could defeat — appeared in Mare's mind. It was a sensible conclusion; how could the Supreme Beings be defeated?

"Obito go and help Jeanne collect Shalltear equipment, Aura, Mare, its time we return to Nazarick"

"Yes my lord!" A [**Gate**] spell was cast and it immediately opened and the three minus Obito, step through.

'It seem like there ready' His eyes began to glow as multiple bodies was ejected from his eyes. Each of his brothers was holding a piece of Shalltear equipment "since we'd have recovered all of Shalltear weapons, we'll now back to Nazarick."

"Yes my lady!"

Ainz st upon his crystal throne as Karna and Jeanne stand at his side as they looked down at all of their servants who'd had all gather at the foot of the throne. Ainz opened the name list in the Throne Room, and as expected, the space which should have contained Shalltear's name was blank. This verified that Shalltear was dead, and so phase one of the plan was concluded.

Ainz's heart ached. While he knew that there was no other way, the fact that he could've done something but just stood to the side and witnessed the act filled him with guilt.

In his heart, Ainz apologized to Shalltear. Then he gulped, and turned to his friends as they just nodded at him, he then turned to the gathered Guardians, Angeloid and Demon Brothers.

"Then, the next step will be to resurrect Shalltear. Albedo, pay attention to Shalltear's name. If she remains mind-controlled as before..."

"My lord, though I may overstep myself, I propose that you should allow us to deal with her ourselves."

Cocytus and Aura immediately agreed with Demiurge's words, while Mare despondently agreed as well. Only Albedo remained unmoved.

"Demiurge…"

Demiurge's passionate words interrupted Ainz's mumbling.

"We are fully aware that your orders are to be respected above all else. We will grind ourselves to dust in order to obey them. However, as your loyal servants, we cannot allow any of you to be placed into danger like the danger that lord Karna and lady Jeanne just went through."

Demiurge's gaze shifted from the three players to Albedo.

"If Shalltear continue to rebel against the 41, then as your servant and your weapons, we shall eliminate her. We pray that you will watch us do so, my lords."

Now that they all understood the Guardians' intentions, they could not offer any further resistance.

"I understand. Guardians, if Shalltear betrays us once more, you may deal with her as you see fit." Karna said.

The Guardians, Demons and Angeloids nodded in acknowledgement.

Ainz felt miserable as he watched them.

What a pathetic excuse for a master he was.

Even after his friends had gone this far, he still had to let his beloved children kill each other.

The root cause of it all was his foolishness. It was all his fault.

Ainz wanted to sigh, but he felt Jeanne hand on his shoulder and as he looked up, he saw the gentle expression on Jeanne face as she stood at his side, he decided to swallow it.

"Supreme Ones, all you need to do is stand aside and watch. To whom should we pledge our loyalty if the final three Supreme Being vanishes? Though we will not have been abandoned, we will still be lonely if all the Supreme Beings are gone."

Karna smile a sad smile —"...Indeed. It's very lonely to not have anyone by your side."— as he looked toward his friend and lover 'then I'm lucky that I have them…'

The three players eyes had unconsciously turned to the the flags hanging within the Throne Room, their gaze resting on the emblems above their heads.

"...Yes, you're right Karna… It must have been that way in the Treasury too… What a fool I was."

After muttering to himself, Ainz turned to face the Guardians.

"Continue to protect us, my beloved servants. It begins now!"

Their spirited replies washed over the three supreme beings of Nazarick as Ainz grabbed the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that floated in the air beside him which floated in front of Karna, and turned it toward a corner of the Throne Room.

There was a mountain of gold coins there, about five hundred million of them. That was the sum needed to recall Shalltear to life.

Normally, he would have needed to use the keyboard to perform the necessary operations, but he now knew that it was no longer necessary.

The mountain of gold changed shape, from a solid to a liquid.

Watched by the NPC's, the molten gold formed a river, which flowed to the same place. Ten thousand tons of gold compacted and shrank, taking a humanoid shape that finally resolved itself into the form of a golden puppet, and its golden glow slowly weakened.

Soon, the golden glow had vanished completely, leaving white, waxy skin and platinum blonde hair. There was no doubt that the person before him was Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"Albedo!"

They all kept their eyes fixed on Shalltear as Jeanne bellowed Albedo's name.

"Please be at ease my lady. It seems the mind control has been terminated."

"Is that so…"

Jeanne unconsciously touched her chest in response to the powerful sense of relief flooded her. The gesture calmed her spirit. Then, Karna reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a black cloak, before he strode over to the supine Shalltear.

Her eyes were tightly shut, and her chest was not moving. She lay quietly on the ground, like a corpse. Still, the undead were essentially animated corpses, so that was hardly unusual.

Something unusual—

The chest Karna had just seen was so flat that it hardly seemed to belong to a girl, but to a boy. Not knowing where to put his eyes, Karna gaze left her chest and looked elsewhere.

The freshly resurrected Shalltear was naked (of course), so he had no idea where he should be looking. Karna was heart was in a panicked as he felt Jeanne aura leaked out of her for a fraction of a second, he almost forgot that all he had to do was look elsewhere.

His vision had sharpened greatly from when he was a human being, so he could see certain places very clearly.

Shalltear's body was carelessly displayed, and her thighs were slightly parted—

He shook his head to get rid of the thought, Karna then hurriedly threw the black cape over her.

The cape spread in mid-air, settling perfectly on Shalltear and covering her entire body.

'It's not like I regret doing that! I'm essentially married to Jeanne, so I have no sexual desires for any other woman! No, that should be, almost no sexual desires. I was looking at Shalltear's body because I was simply curious about whether or not she was designed with parts under her clothing. You'd never be able to take off all your clothes in YGGDRASIL anyway, so that's why I took a peek. That's right, it's not because I was wondering if she had hair down there or anything!'

As Karna tried to explain his actions to… someone, he approached Shalltear, feeling somewhat helpless. Perhaps the reason why he took so long to reach her was because he wanted to cool down his overheating head.

Also, he deliberately ignored the female voice that was quietly addressing Ainz saying, "If you are interested lord Ainz, I have no objection to displaying myself for your viewing pleasure."

As Ainz and Jeanne descend the stairs and soon next to Karna as they all stood before Shalltear body, Shalltear's crimson eyes opened, as though sensing the presence of someone nearby. She blinked sleepily and looked around, finally resting her gaze on the three beings standing beside her.

"Supreme ones?"

She sounded like she was groggy from having just woken up. However, they all could hear the loyalty in her voice. Although Albedo and Nazarick's administration system had already verified her allegiance, they were delighted to confirm it with their own ears, as Karna knelt down to pat Shalltear.

"Uh, ueeh?"

It was hard to believe that such a slender body possessed such startling physical abilities as she seem to have vibrated when Karna patted her.

Karna paid no heed to Shalltear, who was babbling in a thoroughly baffled way, and tightened his grip on her.

"I'm sorry Shalltear. This was all our fault…"

"Eh? Ah, I'm not sure what happened, but I'm certain that you couldn't have made a mistake, Lord Karna."

Shalltear's ice-cold hands suddenly embrace Karna. They were vaguely uncomfortable, given that she seemed to be trying to grope him, but Karna did not stop her, because she was probably trying to verify her sense of touch after her resurrection. Perhaps there was a penalty for resurrecting NPCs, just as there was for players. After all, this was the first resurrection ever since coming to this world.

However, Jeanne immediately made her displeasure known.

"...Karna-kun, I believe Shalltear is tired, so we should leave her be for now."

'Oh crap, wait is she jealous?! no way… but was definitely jealousy I heard in her voice…'

—"...Indeed."—

After Karna quickly let go of Shalltear, a look of disappointment crossed Shalltear's face as Karna quickly stood up and walk beside Jeanne again. He was met with a cute pout and a glare as Jeanne averted her eyes from his.

``Oh great, she is jealous… what am I going to now…?' — [**MESSAGE**] 'hey it was not my fault she suddenly hugged me… jealous' Karna teased.

'I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about… pervert'

[**END MESSAGE**] '...definitely jealous, strange she usually isn't that type of girl, could it be her race or something else that is making her act this way?'

"Tell me the details later. Before that, I have some questions."

"Yes, do ask me whatever you desire lord Ainz… and um, may I ask why, I am in the Throne Room? Then, there's the matter of my body, and your treatment of me, lord Karna. Have I caused any trouble?"

"I was about to ask you that. Do you remember anything that happened?" Ainz asked.

"Ah, yes."

"Then Shalltear, tell me the last thing you remember."

Shalltear's most recent memory was five days ago. She had no impression of what had happened after that, until now.

Ainz could have used the tenth tier spell 「Control Amnesia」 like he had at Carne Village, but even altering short stretches of memory would require a massive amount of MP. The staggering amount of MP needed to affect five day's worth of memories was beyond the limit of ordinary magic casters. Not even Ainz and his extraordinary MP regeneration rates could do it.

Of course, the resurrection process might be such that NPCs lost their memories of the past few days. Alternately, perhaps several people might have gathered to do it.

He lacked information at the present moment, so he could not solve that mystery.

Still, he could be sure that whoever had used the World Class Item on Shalltear had gone silent, vanishing without a trace.

'It's quite troublesome when I don't know who's acting behind the scenes. The enemy might be waiting for a chance to strike at Nazarick… no, perhaps I should be glad that this incident didn't escalate… In any case, I'll make sure I thoroughly avenge myself on whoever did this to Nazarick'

Ainz quelled the anger which even his undead traits could not fully suppress, and gently asked Shalltear:

"Are there any other problems with your body?"

If this world was like YGGDRASIL, then there should not have been anything else. The NPCs should not have lost levels, but he was unsure if the same applied to this world as well. For all he knew, the NPCs would lose levels, just like player characters would.

Shalltear felt herself up before answering Ainz:

"I don't think there's anything."

"Is that so?"

After Shalltear answered, a look of shock came over her face. Not knowing what was wrong, Ainz felt uneasiness welling up inside him.

"OH NOOO!"

"What happened!?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you ok Shalltear!?"

The worried and slightly panicked voices of the three players over lapses and it made it as though they had said it at the same time.

"My chest is gone."

The faces of the Guardians, Angeloids and Demons twisted as they heard this, with expressions of We want our concern back written all over them. Even Demiurge had his teeth bared.

"Don't you know what you did? How could you say something like that!?" Nymph yields as she pointed at Shalltear.

As Nymph delivered a rebuke on everyone's behalf, Shalltear's shoulders trembled in fright.

Ainz had gone so limp that his hands were about to drag on the floor. All he could do was watch Shalltear argue with the other NPC's, and ponder various questions about resurrection.

Since he did not know why Shalltear had lost her memories, he could not guarantee that their resurrection through magic would be the same as resurrecting an NPC through money.

Just as Ainz was thinking about these things, Shalltear had already begun tearing up under Nymph yelling and Jibril teasing along with the other NPC who had joined in, this was akin to a one-sided torrent of abuse.

As the three players watched the scene before them, they looked at each other with a nostalgic smile as they recalled a scene from the past.

—

He saw Bukubukuchagama (the elder sister) scolding Peroroncino (her younger brother), and the rest of his smiling guildmates.

The NPCs before him were like his past comrades.

—

Ainz slowly reached a hand out, and then stopped in mid-air. It felt as though an invisible wall of glass was blocking him.

A profound sense of loneliness filled Ainz's heart.

It felt as though the memories of the warm place where the NPC's existed was little more than an image on a monitor — and he was on the other side.

If he stepped into it, they would pledge their loyalty to him. That was a form of awe, and not the warmth he had felt when he had been with his friends.

He felt that it was a terrible shame.

Just as Ainz's hand fell powerlessly, Karna and Jeanne turned to look at him — as though sensing something strange about Ainz — and watched him quietly. Baffled by why they were looking at him that way, Ainz was about to ask what was wrong when the flames in his eyes suddenly flared up.

That was because both Karna and Jeanne was gently holding their hand out to him. After a moment's hesitation, Ainz took both of their hands, and thus he was pulled into the circle of the NPC as they made their way to them.

Albedo was the first to speak, and then the other NPC followed suit.

"My lord, please reprimand Shalltear sternly~."

Nymph: "That's right! Please give this dummy a good scolding!"

Cocytus: "Indeed. She. Needs. A. Stern. Lesson."

Demiurge: "You'll remember the supreme ones words of wisdom, won't you?"

Mare: "Al-Although, maybe it would be better not to be too strict... er, erm…"

The three was soon bombarded with ways to punish Shalltear by the NPC.

"—Ha, hahaha."

Ainz, Karna and even Jeanne could not keep their laughter from escaping their mouths despite the baffled looks from the NPC around them. No, that laughter did not just come from their mouth, but from their heart.

After they was satisfied, Ainz silently turned back to Shalltear.

"I have told Albedo before, but the fault for this does not lie with you, Shalltear. It is I — who possessed all this information but did not consider the possibility of this happening — who most deserves to be rebuked for this. Shalltear, you did nothing wrong. Remember that."

"Thank, thank you, Ainz-sama!"

"Demiurge, you will be in charge of explaining what happened to Shalltear. Can you do that?" Karna asked.

Demiurge bowed to show that he understood.

"Ah, what of the matter of Sebas—" Albedo asked by was cut off my Jeanne repled.

"He is be bait."

As Jeanne calmly proposed using one of her subordinates as bait, the other NPC merely nodded, with the attitude a proper minion should have. They were simply prioritizing the considerations of the masters of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick over the life of their colleague.

"I am not entirely willing to do this, but it cannot be helped… we do not know why Shalltear was targeted, but if the opposition is looking for a new victim, they might well decide on Sebas, who was travelling with her. This was why I did not call him back to receive a World Class Item… Albedo, select a few clandestine operatives to keep an eye on Sebas and his surroundings… He might be bait, but I do not intend to allow Sebas to be so easily taken. Inform these observers that their mission also includes preventing the enemy from approaching Sebas."

After issuing her orders, Jeanne along with Ainz and Karna narrowed their eyes.

'...Someday we shall meet the person who used a World Class Item on Shalltear. When that day comes, we shall return the favor a hundred times over!'

"Understood. I will select the appropriate personnel as soon as possible."

"Please do. Thanks to Shalltear, we now know that NPCs can be resurrected, but I do not wish to kill any of the NPCs my friends created again." Ainz said.

Moved by those words, the NPC lowered their heads. They had probably sensed how much their masters valued them. However, since they had actually voiced those feelings, the effect on them had been that much greater.

Shalltear seemed to have realized something had happened to her. A look of shock crossed her face, which soon turned into one of utmost regret.

Ainz gestured that she did not need to take it to heart. Just then, a voice came from the side.

"Ah, then, my lords."

Jeanne: "What is it, Mare?"

"Erm, ah, should... should I remove all traces of the battle?"

"There's no need for that. Did you know? When one breaks a spell-sealing crystal, it releases powerful energy, enough to level the surroundings." Ainz said.

"Eh? Is, is that so?"

"No because it's just a lie, of course. What is false is true and what is true is false. Magic-sealing crystals seem to be rare items, so nobody should be able to test that. Albedo, put a few scratches on the item Nigun was using. Then, we'll need to have the blacksmith build some damaged armor and put some scorch marks on it, so it looks like it went through an intense battle." Karna said.

"Understood."

"In addition, perhaps we have been too careless so far, which allowed hidden enemies around Nazarick to harm us. Thus, I wish to initiate a program to strengthen Nazarick. Part of that is to use Ainz skills to create an undead army, so I would like to make some preparations to recover corpses from E-Rantel which can be used to make an undead army."

"About that, Lord Karna"

"What's wrong, Jibril?"

"If I am not wrong, when you use a human corpse as a medium for making undead, the undead thus created are quite weak, despite being mid-tier. Is that correct?"

"Indeed. Is there a problem?"

The most powerful undead Ainz could make with the corpses of the Sunlight Scripture were level forty. Beyond that, the undead would vanish with the passage of time, along with the corpses that served as their medium.

"In truth, after receiving that order, me and Albedo had considered ways of obtaining fresh corpses. Perhaps you could consider using non-human corpses?"

"...I trust you do not intend to use the corpses of Nazarick's vassals?" Jeanne said sternly.

"No, that is absolutely not our intention. I was thinking of using other demihumans."

Both Albedo and Jibril smiled. It was a stunningly beautiful — and terribly cruel — smile.

"Aura discovered a Lizardman village. What do you think of attacking and destroying them?" Jibril asked.

—

Perote, the leader of the mithril ranked adventurer team "Tenrou," opened the doors to the Adventurer's Guild.

The adventurers there looked at him with admiring eyes.

Perote was used to this sort of thing. However, the reception seemed more subdued that it had been a month ago.

Well, it can't be helped.

He turned his eyes to the noticeboard. Regretfully, there were almost no mithril ranked requests.

Granted, jobs which only mithril ranked adventurers could do were quite rare. However, the reason for this dearth of requests was not because there were few of them to begin with, but because there was an adventurer team who could swiftly tackle requests of mithril rank and up.

"...Momon, Siegfried, and Artoria huh."

Perote sounded like he was complaining when he said those names.

About a month ago, they had slain a powerful Vampire.

He had not personally witnessed that intense battle, but one could imagine what had happened after seeing the remains of that battlefield. Thus, he had not been surprised to learn that Kralgra — an adventurer team of the same rank as Perote's own — had been annihilated in the crossfire.

No, anyone who joined that battle would have been killed for certain.

The exploding magic crystal had scorched the land black, and it had even reduced some places to a desert. The startling thing was that it had to be done to defeat that Vampire. And then—

"—They survived…"

Not only had they survived, but they had seized victory. It was only natural for Perote to consider these people — who had returned safely from a battle with a Vampire, a monster that Perote himself could not defeat — to be even greater monsters.

The change in his tone from just now was because Momon was powerful enough to compel respect from him.

Just as he was fantasizing about that sort of absolute might, he heard the sound of the door opening. A wave of commotion swept through the guild like a gust of wind.

Perote vaguely understood the reason for that disturbance, and turned his eyes in the same reaction as everyone was looking. There, he saw the people he had been expecting.

It was the talk of the town, the "The Dark Trinity," team.

The biggest of the three had two greatswords on his back, on his right was a beautiful silver haired girl with armor and dress that was as dark as the night sky, on his left was a handsome white haired, red and back cloak man of tall lean build. Walking behind the three was another beauty of raven black haired girl.

"There's a lot of adamantite on the front of his armor… how much did it cost, anyway?"

The team name of "The Dark Trinity" came from each of their black suit of incredibly high-end plate armor, which had been heavily damaged when they came back from that battlefield. Back then, there had been scorched and claw marks everywhere, but now that each of their suit of armor was pristine. It glittered brightly under the rays of the sun.

This was the result of the combined efforts of every magic caster in the Magician's Guild coming together to repair it.

At each of their necks hung a metal plate — one that belonged to a living legend, an object of worship for adventurers, the trump card of humanity that would protect them from being ravaged by the powerful races of the world — an adamantite plate.

Their accomplishments had long surpassed those of the orichalcum rank, and there had never been one of those in E-Rantel before.

And now, these individual, famed in song and story, had appeared before them, stirring the Adventurer's Guild into a frenzy.

"The Kingdom's third adamantite adventurer team…"

"That must be… the 'Dark Hero' Momon, 'The Prince of Darkness' Siegfried and the 'beautiful Queen' Artoria right? ...And behind them is the 'Beautiful Princess,' Nabe. The rumors were right about these girls looks..."

"You know, they say they were responsible for burning down that swath of forest… apparently, they did it with some kind of martial art..."

"No way, how could that be… if they could use martial arts to burn it down, wouldn't that mean their no longer human?"

"They should be one of the few people who could do it, right? Adamantite ranked adventurers are those who define the peak of power. I wouldn't be surprised if people called them the adamantite rank of adamantite ranks."

Momon advanced calmly to the counter under these adoring looks. The adventurers chatting with the guild receptionists all made way for the most highly-placed of adventurers, and on their faces was respect — and fear.

Momon nonchalantly addressed the receptionist.

"Our assignment is complete. Please help us keep an eye out for any new jobs."

The guild receptionist's eyes went wide, but they returned to their normal shape immediately. Perote knew why her eyes had widened. The task Momon had accepted was one which even mithril ranked adventurers would have trouble accomplishing, and which would need quite a while to complete. However, Momon and his partners had cleared it with ease.

Indeed, they could clear even mithril ranked missions with ease.

This was only to be expected, because such were the talents of the most highly-ranked adventurers.

"There's no work left for us."

Perote let that grumble slip, but of course, he did not actually mean it. Anyone who could reach the mithril rank would have made enough money to retire and live in luxury for the rest of their lives. Thus, anyone who continued adventuring after this must have had a reason for that beyond money.

"Ah, Momon-sama. I am very sorry, but we do not have any other jobs for you, Momon-sama. Please forgive us."

The receptionist rose to her feet and bowed deeply to him.

"Is that so—"

Momon seemed about to say something else, but then he froze halfway. Several seconds later, Siegfried spoke again:

"Never mind, I just remembered something we had to do. We'll be returning to the inn; if there's anything, look for us there. Do you know where we're staying?"

"I do. Is it the Shining Gold Pavilion?"

Karna nodded, then flourished his crimson cloak as he turned and walked away.

Perote had heard the sound of their speaking from Siegfried side, but because his voice was too soft, Perote could not make out the details.

What Perote had failed to hear was Karna order to his distant subordinates to demonstrate their matchless military might.

"Order Gargantua to move out, and summon Victim as well. Once Cocytus returns, we will bear witness to a rare event — all the Floor Guardians, Angeloids And Demons Brothers will move out as one."

**in a certain place (A/N: thanks oda ;)**

Within a dark room that has only a poorly lit candle as it source of light, sit 10 figures with dark robs and armor, around a table made of gleaming black stone.

"Was that Super Tier Magic...?"

"Not sure, there was a barrier and its was very well protected"

"Then, can you pin-point the location?"

"No, the only think I could do was sense it, I cant pin-point it because of the barrier"

"Well it doesn't matter, the only beings who are able to cast Super Tier Magic is a high level player"

"So after a few centuries, a new YGGDRASIL player has emerge huh... interesting!"

"We should keep an eye on the news, if there is an YGGDRASIL player here, then it would be more beneficial to have them join us then to have them against us"

"Agreed"

"The 666,666 meeting of the Yggdmillennia organization is adjourn"

**OK and that is the end of the Chapter. Sorry for making u all wait but you family issue and what not.**

**I told u guys it would get more interesting from here on out. I suck at beginning so I stuck pretty ****closely with the cannon, ****but now that will change.**

**I want to Thank Buujack for helping me with the chapter, he has been a big help in giving me ideas and whats to or not to do, so thank you Buujack.**

**I will try to get the next Chapter up in a few weeks yes few weeks because of the Family thing (life suck doesn't it) so sorry for that and i'll see you all later. **

**ONCE AGAIN THANK U BUUJACK, U HAVE BEEN A BIG HELP.**

**P.S —please leave a review— **


	13. Sorry guys

**Hey guys DamianTran280 here and I have something to tell u all. **

**U all might or might not have been wondering what happened to the fanfic and why I haven't updated in a while, well I got robbed.**

**Yeah, my house was trash and all my crap was stolen. I just bought a new computer phone, iPad and all that $#i+, all my files, documents and info are gone.**

**So I won't be continuing this fanfic for a while, I won't abandon it but I won't be updating for a long while.**

**So I will be making a new fanfic, it's overlord related and it will be about a What if everything in YGGDRASIL was real.**

**What I mean by that is that all the supreme beings are actually their avatar and not just players. All the game mechanics will still be there like level item and all that so don't worry.**

**So I need u guys to give ideas on what I should do with this new fanfic.**

**Again sorry for going on a hiatus on The Trinity Supreme Beings, but im so pissed off about all my stuff getting stolen, so sorry guys.**


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